Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth reported an increased quarterly loss totaling $82.2 million as expenses rose and investment returns dwindled. That figure, which covers the three months leading up to Sept. 30, marks another sharp downturn for the company following a $56.2 million loss in the same period last year.
While operating revenue in the quarter rose almost three percent to a total of $785 million, expenses rose 3.9 percent and came in at over $800 million, resulting in a total operating loss of $61.2 million. Investment losses and other non-operating income totaled $21 million, compared with a $3.6 million loss in the same period last year.
Ongoing labor costs caused by the pandemic continued to affect the health system's financial performance, PeaceHealth said.
"The pandemic caused [an] extraordinary combination of increased contract hours and contract rates combined to create contract labor costs $24.3 million or 221% greater than pre pandemic levels for the three months ending September 30, 2022," management said in a statement.
Liz Dunne, president and CEO of PeaceHealth, told Becker's last month that the group was "hyper focused" on reining in contract labor going forward and retaining full-time staff.
PeaceHealth is a nonprofit organization which operates ten medical centers and 139 clinics in Alaska, Washington and Oregon.