Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s budget will need some pain relief if President Bush’s federal budget is approved, hospital leaders were told Wednesday at their monthly meeting.

Gene Meyer, LMH president and CEO, said the hospital stands to lose $13 million to $14 million in Medicare reimbursements over the next five years if Bush’s budget is approved.

“It is a pretty scary proposition that has been presented,” Meyer said of an analysis conducted for LMH by the Kansas Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association.

The not-for-profit LMH has annual revenues of about $145 million. Bush this month proposed a budget that makes about $200 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid programs. It has been speculated that Congress won’t support the cuts, but there is expected to be pressure to allow the cuts to stand to control a ballooning federal deficit.

Meyer said the hospital industry is not taking any chances. He said the industry is expected to do heavy lobbying efforts to reduce the impacts on hospitals.

In other news from Wednesday’s hospital board meeting:

¢ Board members were told that a project to build a new radiology center as part of a partnership with a private radiology group has been put on hold.

Karen Shumate, vice president of clinical services for the hospital, said changes in how Medicare reimburses radiology services doomed the proposal.

In late 2006, the hospital confirmed it was working on a joint venture proposal with Lawrence-based Radiologic Professional Services to build a multimillion dollar center that would house a new machine useful in detecting cancerous tumors.

Currently, the hospital uses a mobile unit of the machine – called a PET CT scanner – that is available in Lawrence only one day per week.

Shumate said the hospital is leaving open the possibility of restarting talks on the project if finances improve.

“Our plan right now is to regroup and involve the radiologists in some long-range planning,” Shumate said.

¢ Meyer announced that David Sostarich, LMH director of radiology, is leaving the hospital this week to accept a director-level position at a hospital in the University of Pittsburgh system.

¢ Leaders were told work is slowly continuing on building a medical office building in Eudora. A hospital committee is in the process of interviewing four area architecture firms to design the new facility, which would be located near the intersection of Kansas Highway 10 and Church Street. A decision on an architect could be made in April.