Tufts Medical Center in Boston improved its financial performance in the third quarter of its fiscal year thanks to higher outpatient volume and tightly managing its expenses.
Tufts registered a $16.9 million surplus on revenue of $177.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, an improvement from the $1.8 million surplus on $164.1 million in revenue for the year-ago, the hospital reported in an earnings statement. Higher operating income and higher investment income contributed to those results.
Fitch Ratings affirmed a BBB rating with a stable outlook on two series of Tufts bonds.
The 284-bed medical center still has a negative operating margin for the first nine months of its fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. But most of its challenges—including weak patient volume and several one-time expenses—came in the first quarter of the fiscal year, Fitch said in its ratings report.
At the same time, Tufts' expenses have increased only 1.1% year over year in the nine-month period and volumes, at least on the outpatient side, improved in early 2014.
Admissions in the third quarter declined 11.3% year over year but outpatient visits increased 3.7%. Emergency room visits increased 4.6%. —Beth Kutscher
Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher
Send us a letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
