Dive Brief:
- Carolinas HealthCare System reports that it earned $121.7 million in the first quarter, an increase of 52% from the prior year.
- The system's net operating revenue came in at nearly $2.2 billion (up from $2 billion the year before) and its operating income came in at $71.6 million (up from $10.5 million the year before.)
- The numbers were disclosed this week during the board of commissioners' quarterly meeting, and they encompass results from all of the system's 39 owned or managed hospitals.
Dive Insight:
CEO Michael Tarwater notes that it has now had a string of three and a half strong quarters. He attributes some of its first-quarter marketshare and patient volume boosts to the timing of flu season. During that quarter, inpatient discharges increased 1.2% and outpatient volumes were up.
"A lot of it is just things that we have done strategically over the last several years, starting to get traction in the market and really good management and control of expenses," Tarwater said.
At the meeting, Tarwater also announced his plans to retire as of June 30, 2016, after 35 years with CHS.