Excela Health is an award-winning, three-hospital health system serving communities throughout five-counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The system offers a variety of services including an acute and ambulatory care network, which includes a home care and hospice division; and a physician group. Excela Health also offers a Family Medicine Residency and Nurse Anesthesia training program.
With so many facets to the organization, Excela Health must operate efficiently to focus on the system’s mission: “to improve the health and well-being of every life we touch”.
It was out of that commitment that the Accounts Payable department identified CommerceHealthcare® Payment Hub as an opportunity to improve Excela Health’s systems and processes.
Payment Hub offers the organization many benefits, such as maintaining all vendor assigned payment types, managing vendor information, facilitating payments and creating a reconciliation file back to ERP systems. Additionally, optimizing suppliers’ payment types generates revenue for Excela Health. Payment Hub also provides the health system with fraud oversight, handles suppliers’ calls and questions, reduces manual tasks and increases staff efficiency.
"The Commerce team quadrupled the number of suppliers enrolled in automatic payments which significantly increased our efficiency in Accounts Payable."Mark Schneider, Excela Health Corporate Controller
The Payment Hub portal interfaces with Excela Health’s existing accounting system, helping create an automated payment strategy that saves time and money. To maximize participation, the health system uses AP card, ACH and check capabilities within Payment Hub. During enrollment, vendors are given choices of their preferred method of payment – making them more willing to opt in – while Excela Health maintains full payment automation. Additionally, the CommerceHealthcare® dedicated support team handles all vendor support and education.
“Commerce is a true financial partner,” said Stacy Logan, Accounts Payable Lead. “They provide outstanding customer service, and I’ve already recommended Payment Hub to other organizations.”
By outsourcing time-consuming supplier payments, the AP department is running more efficiently and saving money. The automation of Payment Hub enables timely payment of invoices, and has eliminated overtime the department previously required, which has added a cost savings to Excela Health’s bottom line. The bottom line also got a boost from $340,000 in revenue share generated by automated payments from suppliers.
Success with Payment Hub has paved the way for a fully automated AP department at Excela Health. The organization is planning to upgrade technologies that will lead to a wholly digitized system.
"Commerce Bank has been an outstanding banking partner, assisting Excela Health in the automation of accounts payable, which has promoted staff efficiency and significantly increased rebate realization through P-Cards and other forms of electronic payments as alternatives to traditional check payments. These rebates have provided additional operating revenue that Excela Health has been able to use to support our mission of improving the health and well-being of every life we touch."Thomas Albanesi, Jr., Excela Health Executive Vice President/CFO