A hospital in Boone, NC. It ran an operating surplus of 5.4% in FY25 on $212.2M of operating revenue. It held 62 days of cash on hand (63rd percentile among Rural PPS hospitals on liquidity). Operating margin declined from 13.5% in FY20 to 5.4% in FY25, though it rose 5.8 points in the most recent year.
Operating margin · FY25
+5.4%
vs Rural PPS hospitals69th pctl of 387 (FY24)
Days cash on hand · FY25
62d
all sources
vs Rural PPS hospitals63rd pctl of 376 (FY24)
Total operating revenue · FY25
$212.2M
vs Rural PPS hospitals82nd pctl of 393 (FY24)
Total margin · incl. nonoperating · FY25
+9.1%
vs Rural PPS hospitals68th pctl of 387 (FY24)
This facility's newest settled year, FY25, has not yet reached pool validity: benchmarked against the FY24 pool (n=387).
One point of operating margin at WATAUGA MEDICAL CENTER is about $2.1M per year (1% of FY25 total operating revenue).
Where WATAUGA MEDICAL CENTER sits among Rural PPS hospitals
Operating margin · FY24 pool · n = 387 of 418 filed
Each point is one Rural PPS hospital in the national distribution for this provider type, placed by operating margin. Facilities are not matched on size, case mix, or market — that is the matched-peer comparison in the paid benchmark. The Rural PPS hospital median is -0.9%. Descriptive context only, not a ranking.
This facility's newest settled year, FY25, has not yet reached pool validity: benchmarked against the FY24 pool (n=387).
One rural pps hospitalWATAUGA MEDICALRural PPS hospital median
The money
$ thousands · HCRIS cost-report basis · as filed, QA-gated
Ratios tell you how this hospital is doing. Statements tell you what kind of organization it is, and where the money comes from. Every figure below traces to a public cost-report filing, shown as filed. A ratio renders only when every input is reported in the filing; a year missing its core lines is not shown; a year whose balance sheet does not reconcile is labeled. Not audited by Astrelis.
Net patient receivables ÷ (net patient revenue ÷ 365), same fiscal year
HCRIS WS G / G-3
$ in thousands
Line item
FY23
FY24
FY25
Patient revenue
131,672
205,534
211,085
Other operating revenue
2,949
1,006
1,125
Total operating revenue
134,620
206,541
212,210
Total operating expenses
144,274
207,390
200,776
Operating income
(9,654)
(850)
11,434
Operating margin %
-7.2%
-0.4%
+5.4%
Grants & contributions
—
7,223
6,075
Investment income
—
741
335
Other non-operating, net
0
1,952
2,164
Net income
(9,654)
9,066
20,008
Net income %
-7.2%
+4.2%
+9.1%
HCRIS Worksheet G-3 / S-3 · $ thousands · FY20–FY25 · FY20–21 may include COVID-era relief funding in nonoperating income
How it operates
quality & operational context · CMS public reporting
A 101-bed hospital at 37% occupancy 73% of patient revenue is outpatient.
The metrics this hospital type is judged on: care quality, patient experience, and scale. Each is labeled by evidence class and public source; descriptive context only, never a ranking or adequacy claim.
Scale and flow
Occupancy
37.3%
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3
Average daily census
37.81
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3
Staffed beds (acute)
101
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3
Annual discharges
4,365
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3
Average length of stay
3.2d
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3
Outpatient share of patient revenue
73.1%
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS G-2 L28
Total FTEs
650.10
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3 Pt II
Contract labor share of labor cost
17.7%
Verified fact2025
HCRIS WS S-3 Pt V
Who it serves
Total unreimbursed & uncompensated care
$3.5M
Verified fact2024
HCRIS WS S-10 line 31
How the care measures up
C. difficile infection (SIR)
0.288
Better than the National Benchmark
CMS-reported measure07/01/2024 to 06/30/2025
CMS Care Compare
Hospital-wide unplanned readmission
15.1%
No Different Than the National Rate
CMS-reported measure07/01/2023 to 06/30/2024
CMS Care Compare
Medicare spending per beneficiary
0.95
CMS-reported measure01/01/2024 to 12/31/2024
CMS Care Compare
Patient-safety composite (PSI-90)
0.955211
CMS-reported measure07/01/2022 to 06/30/2024
CMS Care Compare
Trajectory
Cost-report basis · 6 reporting years
Operating margin
Days cash on hand
The county this hospital serves
WATAUGA County, NC · nonmetro, urban 20K+
Median household income
$51.4K
vs $82.1K US · $59.7K rural median
Poverty rate
24.7%
vs 12.5% US · 14.3% rural median
Uninsured
10.7%
vs 8.6% US · 8.4% rural median
Age 65+
16.7%
vs 16.8% US · 20.6% rural median
Fair or poor health
17.5%
self-reported, adults · CDC PLACES
Primary-care shortage
Designated
HRSA HPSA
Economic context: 7.3% of county personal income is Medicare/Medicaid medical benefits; 20.2% arrives as government transfers (BEA, 2022).
Method: NCRHW 2016 study of critical access hospitals (IMPLAN Type II), employment × 1.34, earnings × 1.19; output × 2.30 (AHA national, upper bound for rural). This hospital is not a critical access hospital. No published multiplier specific to its type was used, so the CAH ratios are applied unchanged and every multiplied figure here should be read as an upper-bound estimate, not a measurement of this facility. Direct figures are reported values from the facility's HCRIS cost report; multiplied figures are estimates.
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