photo by: Contributed

LMH Health's main campus at 325 Maine St. The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a budget with an expected operating revenue of $448 million, which includes a projected operating income of around $8.1 million

The LMH Board of Trustees approved the hospital’s operating budget for 2026 with expectations of an increased net operating income compared to this year’s budget.

The Board voted unanimously Wednesday morning to approve a budget that projects the hospital system will take in an operating revenue of just over $448 million in 2026, with around $440 million in operating expenses. The budget projects it would have a net operating income of $8.1 million for next year — a 132% increase compared to the projected operating income of $3.5 million in 2025.

The expected increase in operating income is welcome news for LMH Health — the parent company that owns the hospital and doctors’ offices across the area. As the Journal-World reported, between 2019 and 2023 the hospital reported losses in four of those five years before it saw a big financial turnaround in the fall of 2024.

While next year’s budget will see an increase in the allocation for full-time employees of 41 positions, LMH Health noted as part of its report it faced some challenges in recruitment. Although through October the health system had hired a total of 859 people in 2025 — a number exceeding the total hires during the entirety 2024 — the hospital noted it took on average about 52 days to fill each role, which is slower than the hospital’s benchmark of 45 days.

Turnover across LMH Health has decreased in recent months, according to the budget report. From a total turnover rate in January of 26.1%, the rate dropped to 22.7% in October. Voluntary turnover decreased from 19.2% in January to 17.7% in October.

LMH Health’s five-year capital plan features an increase for 2026 funding compared to 2025. The hospital allocated a total of $28.9 million to spend on various projects in 2026 — a $4.8 million increase from the 2025 allocation. The net spend for the year is expected to be just over $15.7 million.

Two big projects that will be funded as part of the capital plan next year include renovating the hospital’s cardiac catheterization laboratory and starting the expansion of the hospital’s heart center. A total of $12.2 million has been set aside for those two projects in 2026, with $7.3 million set for the next year. The project also received a $5 million gift from Lawrence residents Harry and Cindy Herington, as the Journal-World reported.