Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., has recovered enough volume to bring back some employees who were laid off last year, but warned challenges are not over, according to The South Florida Business Journal.
The hospital has rehired about 40 people who were laid off last year, according to the report. Mount Sinai CEO Gino Santorio attributed the rehiring to patient volume returns, but said the hospital is still at just 90 percent of its pre-pandemic volume.
Last May, Mount Sinai laid off or furloughed 983 employees due to the decline in patient volume amid the pandemic.
Mount Sinai reported an operating income of $6.5 million in 2020, driven largely by $46.9 million in federal relief funds. The year prior, the hospital saw an operating loss of $1.4 million.
Although the hospital saw an operating gain in 2020, proposed cuts to Medicaid payments in Florida could present challenges for the hospital, according to Mr. Santorio. Florida lawmakers have proposed $539 million in cuts to Medicaid payments, plus additional cuts to hospitals that treat a disproportionate share of Medicaid patients.
"It’s a dramatic cut during an unprecedented time that impacts hospitals significantly," Mr. Santorio told the Business Journal. "When we are all challenged with budgets that are less than they were in 2019 and we're facing another gap with Medicaid cuts, it's alarming."