Dive Brief:
- Healthcare providers are beginning to tally the financial damages wreaked by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare anticipates a $20 million pretax earnings impact for the third quarter of 2017.
- The company has about 16,000 employees in the areas of Texas and Florida hit by the storms and operates 18 long-term acute-care hospitals, about 100 Kindred at Home sites, two inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, a sub-acute unit and external rehab therapy services for approximately 100 sites.
- Combined, those businesses comprise roughly 16% of Kindred’s revenues.
Dive Insight:
All of Kindred’s Houston hospitals and eight of 10 Florida hospitals remained open throughout the storms. Two Florida hospitals were temporarily evacuated during Irma. None of the facilities suffered significant physical damage. Still, most of the company’s Kindred at Home sites closed temporarily due to weather concerns and power outages, officials said.
Moody’s Investors Service predicted Hurricane Harvey could affect nonprofit hospital credit for years. The severity will depend on the extent of property damage, insurance recovery and availability of federal disaster relief funds, the firm said. Financial analysts also warned of a continued drag on patient volumes after the storm waters recede because people will put off medical procedures as they focus on rebuilding homes and communities.
Harvey caused widespread service interruptions, cancellation of procedures and full-scale hospital closures in southeast Texas during and after the storm. Clean-up is still underway.
Irma forced nearly three dozen Florida hospitals to evacuate patients. Power outages were a major concern at hospitals that remained open.