February 26, 2004

By Fariss Samarrai

The Medical Center Operating Board met Feb. 19 and heard a variety of reports, including a presentation on the work of the Pituitary Center, a report on the School of Nursing’s efforts to increase enrollment, and a mid-year status report on the Medical Center’s financial affairs.

Dr. Edward R. Laws Jr., chief of the Pituitary Center, presented details about the work of the center, which performs more operations on pituitary tumors than anywhere else in the world. More than 20 percent of all people develop these usually benign tumors, which can cause depression, sleep disorders, mood swings, infertility and vision loss among other symptoms. The pituitary gland controls growth, sexual maturation and reproduction, metabolism, stress response and fluid balance.

Laws hopes to broaden the capabilities of the center in coming years, expanding research, incorporating novel technological advances and serving as a national resource for education on pituitary issues.

Jeanette Lancaster, dean of the School of Nursing, presented her plan for addressing the nursing shortage in Virginia. Lancaster hopes eventually to increase enrollment by 32 percent, to 644 students from 489. “We need to meet a social need for more nurses,” she said. But to increase enrollment, the school will require new classrooms and laboratories, and space for additional faculty, as well as more faculty for clinical supervision.

Larry L. Fitzgerald, chief financial officer, reported that the first half of fiscal year 2004 ended with an operating margin of 5.5 percent, which is above the targeted 3.9 percent. The operating margin is what’s left of income from services rendered after subtracting operating expenses. Total operating revenue was 1.4 percent above budget for the first half of the fiscal year and 11.1 percent above the prior year, while the total operating expenses were just below budget, but 12.2 percent higher than the previous year. Inpatient admissions were 7.6 percent above budget and 9.3 percent above the prior year.