Atrium Health’s Greater Charlotte Market region held a board meeting this week that provided these financial and operational highlights:
- The Charlotte-area portion of Atrium reported a net loss of $744 million in 2022, compared with a $952 million gain in 2021. This includes both the operations of the state’s largest hospital system and the investment performance of Atrium’s $7 billion portfolio. It doesn’t include other parts of the Advocate Health system that operates in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois and Wisconsin.
- The Charlotte region had a $107 million operating loss in 2022. That compares with a $337 million gain in 2021. Expenses were 6.7% higher than expected, or about $470 million, at $7.9 billion, as labor costs soared. Net operating revenue increased 2% to $7.8 billion.
- Atrium reported a nonoperating loss of about $637 million, reflecting declining stock and bond market valuations. In 2021, it had a gain of nearly $615 million on its investment portfolio.
- Patient days increased 8.2% to about 849,500. Emergency room visits also gained 8.6% to 746,000.
- Advocate Health is now the fifth-largest U.S. health care system with annual system-wide revenue of $27 billion and 150,000 employees. That includes Atrium Health in North Carolina, Advocate Aurora Health in Illinois and Wisconsin and the former Wake Forest Baptist system in Winston-Salem. The Charlotte area now represents less than a third of Atrium’s revenue.Advocate Health has not shared an overall financial report consolidating all operations. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, which includes the Greater Charlotte area operations, is not obligated for the debt of the Midwest operations.
- The capital improvements investment account lost 13.3% of its value during 2022. Over the last five years, it posted a 3.4% return. Atrium didn’t disclose how much money is in that account.
- Atrium invested $516 million in Charlotte capital projects last year, or about 6.5% of revenue.
- Atrium is budgeting $1.4 billion for expansion at the main Dilworth campus near downtown Charlotte. Demolition of existing buildings is starting this spring with construction of a new tower to start later this year.
- It is budgeting $256 million for a 54-bed hospital and medical office building near Lake Norman. It is expected to be completed by 2025.
- Atrium expects to spend $65 million over the next two years to integrate Wake Forest Baptist’s computer network with Atrium’s system.
- Atrium and Wake Forest Baptist are committing $205 million to academic and research space at new buildings planned for Pearl Innovation District in downtown Charlotte. The first building is expected to open in 2025.
- The system is paying signing bonuses of as much as $25,000 for new nurses. It hired 940 more RNs last year; it didn’t disclose a net change in its nursing staff.
- Advocate Health co-CEO Gene Woods is no longer on the board of Atrium’s Charlotte region. The top regional executive is Ken Haynes.
- Ten of Advocate Health’s 20 board members are from North Carolina, including Wake Forest University President Susan Wente, Winston-Salem auto dealer Don Flow, Charlotte attorney Angelique Vincent-Hamacher, retired Queens University President Pamela Davies and National Gypsum CEO Tom Nelson, who is board chair.