The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will add 500 jobs this fiscal year despite a low operating margin, the Associated Press and Becker's Hospital Review report.
The announcement came on the heels of another announcement that operating income had risen 13 percent to $240 million for FY 2010--which ended June 30--up from $212 million in FY 2009.
Jobs will be added to two of the 20-hospital network's main Pittsburgh-based facilities, UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside. Nurses and physician assistants may also be hired at UPMC Passavant, Magee Womens Hospital and MPRM McKeesport.
Although UPMC's operating margin was 1.5 percent, far below the industry standard of 6 percent, that number is typical for western Pennsylvania hospitals, Becker's Hospital Review reports. The hospital network is preparing for years of expected slow growth, CFO Robert DeMichiei told the Hospital Review.
In other UPMC news, medical center officials signed a letter of intent to negotiate a $300 million deal with Hamot Medical Center in Erie, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. If the deal goes through, it will be UPMC's first expansion into the northern part of the state.
To learn more:
- read the Associated Press story
- see Becker's Hospital Review article
- here's the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story