By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Numbers released by Massena Memorial Hospital CEO Robert Wolleben at Monday’s Board of Managers meeting night show more people are going to the hospital for treatment, and the hosptial may add jobs to meet the demand.

In 2015, they admitted 1,227 patients. This year through June 30, they admitted 1,077.

Emergency room visits have already surpassed last year’s total. They saw 7,704 ER patients last year, compared to 8,202 through the end of last month.

Surgeries are also on the rise. They performed 1,115 operations last year, and 1,159 through June 30.

Facteau says hospital admissions are down throughout the United States.

“Nationally, admissions are down 3.5 percent,” he said.

“Our experience is not different from the rest of the country,” Wolleben said.

Their outpatients registrations for June dipped slightly below anticipated levels, 10,029 despite planning for 10,726. That includes emergency room visits, ambulatory surgery and clinic visits.

Their inpatient discharges were also below budget, 172 compared to the planned 217.

“June is historically a slow month,” Board of Managers Trustee Dave MacLennan said.

Wolleben said he anticipates adding full-time positions in the near future to accommodate the increase in demand. Shortly after taking the helm last year, he cut their number of full-time equivalents from 372 to 363.

“This number (363) is going up. We’re adding physicians … we’re adding nurses … we’re adding ancillary positions so some of our processes work better,” he said.