Providence, R.I.-based Care New England ended the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss of 6.5 million, according to a Providence Journal report.
However, the third-quarter losses were less than first-quarter losses ($13.9 million) and second-quarter losses ($26 million). Year-to-date, CNE recorded a total operating loss of roughly $46.5 million, according to the report.
CNE has made multiple efforts to cut costs, including layoffs. But the health system said declining patient volumes as well as decreased reimbursements have counteracted those efforts, according to the report.
At CNE's Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, hospitalizations in obstetrics and the neonatal intensive care unit decreased more than 7 percent year over year, while CNE's emergency visits declined about 4 percent, the report states.
Still, CNE spokesman James Beardsworth noted "progressive improvement" as far as operating income in the third quarter compared to the prior two.
"While we are pleased to be heading in the right direction ... We will continue to aggressively assess and implement all opportunities across CNE that serve to strengthen our financial stability while continuing to provide exceptional care to the community," he told Providence Journal.
The latest financial results come as financially struggling CNE is in the process of a planned affiliation with Boston-based Partners HealthCare. CNE is also in the process of selling its Pawtucket, R.I.-based Memorial Hospital to Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Foundation, which, according to the report, must take place before an affiliation with Partners is finalized.