Report Shows Overall Financial Health in RI Hospitals

Sunday, November 28, 2010

GoLocalProv Health Team

In 2009, Rhode Island's 13 acute-care hospitals improved their collective profit margin, operating margin, and available cash, according to the 11th annual Health of Rhode Island’s Hospitals (2009) report published by the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH).

Continuing a strong pattern, there was wide variation in financial performance among individual hospitals. Facilities in the Care New England and Lifespan systems demonstrated significantly stronger financial stability than the six independent hospitals which continued to show poor financial performance. In 2009, Landmark Medical Center operated under the control of a court-appointed special master, while St. Joseph Hospital’s financial position continued to worsen, becoming technically insolvent, and eventually operating with Roger Williams Hospital under the newly announced CharterCare affiliation.

Six of the Nine Financial Performance Measures Improved

“Rhode Island’s 13 hospitals are a $3.2 billion-dollar industry with an annual payroll of more than $1.8 billion,” said Director of Health David R. Gifford, MD, MPH. “As healthcare continues to evolve, being financially solvent remains a challenge for all hospitals, especially for the independents. At the same time, these hospitals are critical to the state’s

healthcare system and to local economies. HEALTH will continue track the critical financial indicators to assure that Rhode Islanders have continuing access to safe, high quality acute healthcare.”

This report evaluates data from 2007 to 2009, and compares the state’s hospitals to other hospitals in the Northeast region and to a group of the best 10% of hospitals in the region. State-wide net income grew from $3.5 million in 2008 to $7.8 million in 2009; however, investment losses increased. Overall, six of the nine financial performance measures improved from 2008 levels. (Debt coverage, capital financing, and capital expenses weakened slightly.) The report also ranked individual hospitals using a combination of the nine individual measures during the time period of 2007-2009. The top performing hospitals were Women & Infants Hospital, Bradley Hospital, and Butler Hospital, respectively.

To view the complete report, visit www.health.ri.gov/publications/reports/HealthOfHospitals.pdf