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Finances were not as bright as they appeared on the Internal Revenue Service 990 2017 filings for the TLC Health Network in Irving, the president and chief executive officer of the organization noted this week in regard to a recent OBSERVER article.
Mary E. LaRowe, who heads the Brooks-TLC Health System, said while the facility did exit bankruptcy in that year, it remains in a fiscal struggle. Her comments come after TLC's disclosure of a more than $6 million surplus in the Internal Revenue Service 990 forms.
"The Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990) reflects financial information required by the Internal Revenue Service and does not clearly reflect the organization's financial or operating results," she told the OBSERVER on Tuesday. "The 2017 IRS 990 for TLC Health Network shows a positive income of $6.467 million. However, a number of items/activities led to the positive result.
"In late 2017, TLC exited from bankruptcy and reported approximately $6.3 million in non-payment of outstanding accounts. TLC also received funds throughout 2017 totaling $5.425 million from New York state and $1.316 million from FEMA for settlement of activities related to the flood. As a result of these required accounting entries on IRS 990, TLC appeared to have a positive net income in 2017 when, in fact, it suffered an operating loss of approximately $6.584 million."
"This represents the 10th consecutive year that TLC sustained operational losses, not a surplus," LaRowe continued.
Following TLC's exit from bankruptcy, Kaleida Health issued a news release stating Brooks and TLC were merging and becoming a part of the "twin tier" network that includes the Olean, Bradford, Pa., and Cuba Memorial hospitals. "This will better position all entities and help them achieve sustainability into the future, leveraging Upper Allegheny infrastructure and capabilities," the news release noted.
In 2017, the IRS filings also showed Brooks running a deficit of $493,050. Both LaRowe and Chris Lanski, board chair, indicated earlier this fall that plans for a newly built facility at the former Cornell Cooperative Extension site on East Main Street remain on track.
Both institutions are classified as private, not-for-profits.