Irving, Texas-based Christus Health, a 60-hospital system, reported $324.5 million in operating income (4.2% margin) in fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, up from a $286.4 million operating gain (3.9% margin) in the previous fiscal year.
Revenue increased 6.1% year over year to $7.8 billion while expenses rose 5.8% to $7.5 billion, according to financial documents published Nov. 27. Net patient service revenue increased 5.4% year over year to $6.8 billion due to a spike in overall patient volume. Discharges increased 5.9%, surgeries rose 6.8% and emergency room visits were up 12.9% compared to the same period of the prior year.
Under expenses, Christus' employee compensation and benefits increased 1.8% year over year to $3.5 billion and supply costs grew by 9.3% to $1.3 billion. Labor cost per adjusted discharge decreased 7.6%. Reducing the system's dependency on contract labor was a key focus for driving down the labor cost per adjusted discharge. This resulted in a contract labor expense decrease of $248.7 million or 56.2% during fiscal 2023.
After including the performance of its investment portfolio and other nonoperating items, the health system ended FY 2023 with a net income of $409.2 million, up from $210 million the previous year.
Christus attributed its financial performance to significant increase in patient volume, effective resource management and realized return from strategic investment, according to financial documents.