Atlanta-based Grady Health System's finances are improving despite the added strain resulting from the closure of the city's only other safety-net hospital, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported Sept. 13.
Board member Carol Tomé said at a Sept. 12 meeting that Grady's year-to-date revenues are just over $1 billion, up 21 percent year over year, according to the report. She also said that the system has earned $52 million year-to-date, compared to a $27 million loss over the same period last year.
Ms. Tomé added that the system currently has 97 days of cash on hand and would like to see the system have more than 100 days of cash on hand by year's end, according to the report.
The system's operating margin was 5 percent compared with the budgeted 0.8 percent, according to the report.
Grady has seen an influx of patients following last year's closure of two nearby Wellstar Health System hospitals, according to the report.
Following the Wellstar closures, Grady received $130 million from the state's remaining COVID-19 relief funds to help the system increase its capacity by 182 beds, according to the report. Fulton County provided $11 million and DeKalb County provided $8 million in response to the closures. Some of the new beds are already available. The project is on time and on budget and is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.
Another factor that may have helped Grady financially is a decreased reliance on contract labor. CEO John Haupert told the Atlanta Business Chronicle in July the system now uses less contract labor than it did in 2018 and 2019.