U of Pittsburgh Medical Center posts strong Q1

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has posted a strong first quarter for its fiscal year, continuing the facility's return from negatives when its investment funds were sapped during the recent Wall Street crash.

For the three months ending September 30, operating revenue for the facility (and affiliated health plan) increased by $101 million, up from a $65 million gain a year ago. Operating income stayed more or less level at $65 million, compared with $63 million for the same period last year.

Total admissions dropped 2.5 percent for the quarter, to 46,280, and med-surg admissions were down 2.4 percent when compared to the same period a year ago. On the other hand, enrollment in UPMC's health insurance arm jumped 8.5 percent to 1.4 million members for the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

UPMC, the country's largest hospital by gross patient revenue, has generally been a strong financial performer, though it lost $653 million for fiscal '09 due to losses on its $3 billion equity and fixed income portfolio. The hospital dubbed that a "paper loss," as its operating revenue grew by $653 million, to $7.7 billion, during the same period.

Since then, UPMC has taken steps to turn things around, including a mass layoff of 500 employees this summer, and investment performance is improving for the investment fund.

To learn more about UPMC's performance:
- read this Pittsburgh Business Times piece

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