St. Louis-based Ascension saw revenues increase in the first quarter of its fiscal 2020, which ended Sept. 30, but the system ended the three-month period with an operating loss, according to financial documents.
Ascension reported operating revenue of $6.5 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, up 4.9 percent from $6.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. The health system said the revenue boost was attributable to a few factors, including the acquisition of the remaining interest in Bay Medical Sacred Heart in Panama City, Fla., in March.
Ascension also saw patient volume rise due to the acquisition of Bay Medical and adding more employed physicians. During the three months ended Sept. 30, inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, inpatient surgeries and equivalent discharges increased. Ascension said outpatient volumes increased 2.4 percent year over year.
Ascension's operating expenses climbed 4.5 percent year over year. The system's impairment, restructuring and nonrecurring losses totaled nearly $35 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Ascension said the bulk of the nonrecurring losses — $23.9 million — were due to one-time termination benefits and other restructuring expenses.
Ascension ended the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 with an operating loss of $23.1 million. That's compared to an operating loss of nearly $28 million in the same period a year earlier.
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