Renton, Wash.-based Providence, a 51-hospital system, has reported a $1.7 billion operating loss for fiscal 2022 amid labor and inflationary pressures as well as delayed reimbursements. Investment losses also further dragged the system’s performance down.
As in 2021, operating expenses for Providence exceeded revenues, but at a higher 5.5 percent delta in 2022, compared with 2.6 percent in 2021. Revenues were largely stable, totaling $26.4 billion in 2022.
The $1.7 billion operating loss was compounded by non-operating losses of $1 billion. The figures compared with an operating loss of $714 million in 2021 and investment gains of $1.2 billion in 2021.
“The system’s overall results continue to be challenged by higher costs to serve patients, including higher operating expenses, driven by an increase in agency and overtime expenses of $547 million compared with the same period in 2021,” management said in an annual report.
Areas of focus continuing throughout these financial challenges include recruitment and retention of staff as well as improving the obstacles presented by discharge challenges, Providence said.
“While we still have a journey ahead of us, we are moving in the right direction and beginning to see signs of renewal,” CFO Greg Hoffman said in a statement.
