Two hospital operators that operate in Las Vegas announced positive financial results today.
HCA Inc., owner of Sunrise, MountainView and Southern Hills hospitals and three outpatient surgery centers, announced its profit increased 1.6 percent to $322 million, or 70 cents per share, in the fourth quarter from $317 million, or 63 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The fourth-quarter 2003 net income included a one-time gain of $41 million for Medicaid cost report estimates.
IASIS Healthcare LLC, owner of North Vista Hospital, announced its profit increased 16.3 percent to $370 million in the fiscal year first quarter, which ended Dec. 31.
HCA shares were trading at $44.60, or down 16 cents, in mid-morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. IASIS shares are not publicly traded.
HCA, based in Nashville, Tenn., announced its revenue increased 6.1 percent to $5.94 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $5.6 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected HCA to earn 66 cents per share.
HCA, which owns 189 hospitals and 92 freestanding surgery centers, reported it provided $248 million in charity care, free care, and discounts to uninsured patients in the fourth quarter, compared with $201 million in the year-ago quarter.
In Las Vegas, the three HCA hospitals provided $43.4 million in free and discounted care to uninsured patients in the fourth quarter, compared with $43.9 million in the year-ago quarter. An undisclosed portion of that money for both quarters is considered bad debt because patients had the ability to pay a portion of their bills, but failed to do so.
Amy Dirks Stevens, vice president of business development of HCA's Las Vegas market, said the Las Vegas hospitals increased their charity care by $7 million and decreased their bad debt.
In January, HCA announced new discounts for uninsured patients, enabling more people to qualify for reduced bills. The company's discount vary by market and are comparable to managed-care rates.
In Las Vegas, the new rates are comparable to preferred provider organization rates and are more than 30 percent lower than the full price.
HCA decreased its allowance for bad debt to $626 million in the fourth quarter from $636 million in the year-ago quarter.
Nationally, HCA's same-hospital admissions declined 1.4 percent to 404,600 patients in the fourth quarter from 410,500 patients in the year-ago quarter, which had a stronger flu season.
Same-facility outpatient surgeries increased 1.8 percent to 205,100 patients in the fourth quarter from 201,400 patients in the year-ago quarter.
In Las Vegas, patient admissions increased to 14,389 patients in the fourth quarter, compared with 12,792 patients in the year-ago quarter, Stevens said.
HCA continues to invest in the Las Vegas market through hospital expansions and new services and equipment.
In the fourth quarter, MountainView opened a $8.7 million, 600-space parking garage.
The hospital also is expanding its physical therapy department and adding 36 medical-surgical beds and a 12-bed observation area.
Construction continues on Sunrise Children's Hospital, which is connected to Sunrise Hospital and will provide 56 private pediatric rooms when the multi-year expansion is completed. The $70 million expansion includes additional pediatric intensive care beds and beds for children with cancer. Those projects are scheduled to be done in August.
During the fourth quarter, Sunrise spent $2.8 million in catheterization labs. The hospital plans to purchase additional cardiovascular equipment this quarter.
Southern Hills is expected to open its level-two nursery for critical babies this month and will break ground on a second medical office building this spring.
HCA also announced today that its board of directors approved a 15 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, which will be 15 cents per share and paid June 1 to all shareholders of record as of May 1.
Separately, Franklin, Tenn.-based IASIS Healthcare announced its revenue increased 16.3 percent to $370 million in the first quarter, compared with $318.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
IASIS increased its provision for bad debt to $32.3 million in the first quarter from $25.1 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company declined to say how bad debt was affecting North Vista, but Galin said "it is still high in the market, but it is consistent with the previous quarter, and the company continues to focus on this issue."
Patient admissions on a same-facility basis decreased 4.1 percent to 33,289 patients in the fiscal year first quarter, compared with 34,727 patients the year-ago quarter.
In Las Vegas, North Vista accounted for nearly 2,200 of the first quarter admissions. Previous quarter figures were unavailable, but IASIS said patient admissions are strong at North Vista, formerly Lake Mead Hospital.
"We attribute that to our continued investment in the expansion of our hospital services, the upgrade of our technology, and our ability to attract physicians to the hospital," IASIS spokeswoman Tomi Galin said in a statement. "We've been successful in attracting physicians who had left the hospital before IASIS took ownership back to North Vista."
IASIS purchased North Vista from Tenet Healthcare Corp. Feb. 1, 2004, and has been investing in it since the deal closed.
North Vista plans to add 22 geriatric-psychiatric beds March 1, brining the total to 40 beds.
In mid-spring, the hospital is scheduled to open a diabetes care center that will provide education, treatment and case management in a comprehensive setting.
In May, North Vista plans to open a wound care center with three hypberbaric oxygen chambers.
In late July or early August, a new women's center with six level-two nursery beds, 16 regular nursery beds and eight labor, delivery and recovery rooms is scheduled to open.
North Vista was the pilot hospital for the company's electronic medical records, which includes electronic patient charting and remote access to patient records.
Next week, North Vista will add its final phase of the electronic patient care system when it adds barcode scanners to all medications, Galin said. Health providers will have to scan the drug and patients' wristbands to ensure the proper drug and dose are given.
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