UNC Health Southeastern, which fully completed its transition under the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health umbrella during fiscal year 2022, reported a $74 million loss for the period ending June 30, admitting the year had been "difficult" as it struggled to recover from the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the group lost money on investment income, the bulk of the loss was due to higher expenses related to staffing costs compounded by lower-than-budgeted inpatient and surgical admissions.
"We continue to have large budget variances due to staffing cost including a contract labor expense variance of approximately $30 million," hospital management said in a statement accompanying the results.
Net operating revenue for the period totaled $328.75 million, while expenses were just over $394 million.
UNC Health Southeastern, which at the time was independently run Southeastern Health, agreed to become part of the UNC Health group in December 2020. UNC Health Southeastern serves approximately 15,000 inpatients and 61,000 emergency patients annually.