Flat Admission Rates Pose Fiscal Challenge For Sutter Health
In responding to the trend, the Sacramento-based hospital group's business is transforming from inpatient to outpatient care. News outlets also report on regional hospital news from San Bernardino, San Francisco and Sonoma County.
Modern Healthcare:
Sutter Health Wrestles With Increasing Costs As Admissions Remain Flat
Sutter Health continued to see rapid growth in outpatient visits last year, while admissions remained flat. Those trends, along with rising expenses across the board, led to a pinched operating margin for the 25-hospital system.The Sacramento, Calif.-based hospital group reported an operating surplus of $287 million on nearly $11 billion in operating revenue for the year ended Dec. 31. In comparison, it saw an operating surplus of $419 million on $10.2 billion in operating revenue in the previous year.Its operating margin declined to 2.6% from last year's 4.1%,Salary and benefit costs increased 8.8% year over year, purchased services were up 11.2% and supply costs grew 11.7%.Like many of its peers, Sutter Health's business is transforming from inpatient to outpatient care. (Kutscher, 5/10)
The Sun:
Dignity Health’s Top Nursing Executive Visits San Bernardino Hospitals
Page West, the chief nursing executive officer of 39 Dignity Health Hospitals, visited St. Bernardine Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon as part of the non-profit hospital chain’s celebration of Nurses and Hospitals Week. The purpose of the visit is to show “an appreciation from a nurse to a nurse,” said West, who is based in San Francisco, and spent many years as a hospital nurse in the Dignity system. (Steinberg, 5/10)
The San Francisco Business Times:
Sneak Peek: New CPMC Hospital Hits Latest Milestone
California Pacific Medical Center's new $2.1 billion, 274-bed hospital at Geary and Van Ness is 40 percent of the way to its 2018 construction finish line, according to officials at Sutter Health's flagship hospital in the region. (Rauber, 5/10)
The Press Democrat:
Hospital Union Decries Staffing At Memorial And Petaluma Valley
The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents about 800 medical workers at Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, has released a scathing report that accused the two Sonoma County facilities of poor patient care caused by inadequate staffing. (Espinoza, 5/10)