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UH continues to face a number of financial and operational challenges ahead — pressures that not only other health systems, but many other industries, are grappling with as well
The staffing shortage is a significant issue for UH, which has thousands of open positions and is turning to the higher-cost workforce of third-party staffing agencies, Szubski said.
UH and others delayed some outpatient procedures earlier this year as COVID-19 cases rose, which tends to bring down revenue performance. And patient volumes overall — discharges, surgical and procedural volumes, emergency department visits — were down in the first quarter, he said.
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Add in the supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures that virtually everyone is dealing with and you’ve got “a little bit of a perfect storm going on right now,” Szubski said.
Given these challenges, it’s difficult to forecast the system’s financial performance, but he said, “I suspect that 2022 is not going to come in as strong as 2021. I am willing to say that. And I think most of my colleagues around the country would say something very, very similar.”
He expects UH’s revenue to continue to grow year over year, but the expense growth likely will outpace it, putting pressure on the operating bottom line.
The financial picture is especially challenging without ongoing federal funding or support to recognize the burden, particularly for health systems, Szubski said, “but I know we’re not alone.”
Many employers and industries are suffering under these challenges and wondering how much longer inflation, staffing shortages, supply chain strains and other pressures will continue. UH is building action plans around expected opportunities to help meet these financial challenges, Szubski said.
“But I think my personal opinion is that the challenges are going to continue for at least some extended period of time, I would say definitely into 2023,” he said. “And, you know, we’ve just got to keep doing our best just to try to stay ahead of it as best we can.”
This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain’s Cleveland Business.
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