Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System lost $2 million more than it anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, CFO Britt Tabor reported this week, according to a health system email to Becker's Hospital Review.
Seven things to know:
1. Erlanger, a seven-hospital health system, posted a net loss of $4.4 million in the first quarter that began July 1, compared to a $2.4 million budgeted loss.
2. The net loss came as Erlanger posted net patient revenue of $263.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, compared to a budgeted $270.9 million.
3. Erlanger attributed the lower than expected revenue to lower than expected patient volume.
4. In the first three months of the fiscal year, regional transfers declined, emergency room inpatient conversion rate shifted and commercial discharges were lower than expected, according to Erlanger.
5. The health system said outpatient surgeries and births also went over budget and prior year numbers.
6. Despite the $4.4 million net loss, an independent auditor reported that the health system has seen 38.6 percent patient volume growth in the last five years, Erlanger said. The health system expects to see patient volume growth continue in fiscal year 2020, but not as fast as projected in the year prior.
7. Amid recent financial difficulties, Erlanger announced Oct. 21 that it had eliminated or restructured 30 management positions.
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