White River Health
Legal name: White River Health System Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 710411459
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Batesville, AR, USA
- Phone
- 911 for immediate medical assistance
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Hospital, General
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $329,732,237
- Expenses
- $318,750,833
- Assets
- $243,417,328
- Liabilities
- $54,834,704
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEVEN WEBB - SEE STATEMENT (CURRENT PRESIDENT AND CEO)
- GARY PAXSON (FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- GARY PAXSON (FORMER PRESIDENT AND CEO): $491,573 total reported compensation
- JOSEPH SMOTHERMAN (FORMER EVP CSO/COO): $120,773 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of White River Health is to provide quality healthcare and improve the health of our communities. White River Health partners with educational institutions to promote the development of careers in healthcare. Students receive valuable training during clinical rotations putting classroom instruction into practical experience. Clinical rotations at White River Health facilities are offered in nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, radiology, and respiratory therapy. Leaders from our organization further support healthcare education as instructors, mentors and as members of governing boards of higher education institutions. | Arkansas State University - Jonesboro | University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville |.
What it reported doing in 2024
White river health system, inc. Is a multidimensional provider of healthcare services primarily to the residents of north central Arkansas. The not-for-profit organization operates two hospitals; white river medical center which is an acute care hospital providing inpatient, outpatient and emergency care to the resident of independence county and surrounding areas and stone county medical center which is a critical access hospital providing inpatient, outpatient and emergency care services for the residents of stone county and surrounding areas. The system also includes outpatient facilities, primary care and specialty physician offices, medical office buildings, and white river health system foundation, inc., which provides support for furthering the purpose and promoting the activities of the system.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 99% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 50
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.9%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.76; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.2%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 80.9% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $266.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $492K · 29 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.7M reported
- Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.