After a turbulent couple of years in which the system suffered massive operating losses, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has found its bearings.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the system's first quarter of fiscal 2016, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based system's operating margin was 2.2%, up from 1.2% during the same time period a year ago. Overall, the system saw a $12.6 million surplus on $567.2 million in total revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a $6.2 million surplus on $513.5 million in total revenue during the prior-year quarter.
The system treated more patients on both an outpatient and inpatient basis. Outpatient volume increased 11.7% for the quarter, which Wake Forest attributed to improved access to ambulatory and diagnostic services, clinician productivity, expansion of outpatient facilities and pricing strategies.
Inpatient admissions were up 2.6% compared with the prior-year quarter. The system said that was due to growth in emergency and ambulatory clinic visits.
Wake Forest Baptist was sufficiently confident in its inpatient volume that it started construction of a $47 million 50-bed inpatient facility at its Davie Medical Center-Bermuda Run campus. The building is expected to open in spring 2017.
Wake Forest Baptist's strong showing for the latest quarter is a continuation of progress made in its fiscal 2015, when net patient revenue grew 19.5%. The system reported an operating surplus of $39.8 million in 2015 for an operating margin of 1.8%.
The positive results come after a downturn for Wake Forest Baptist. The troubles began in 2013, when the system had to write off skyrocketing costs of implementing an Epic Systems Corp. electronic health-record system. Wake Forest Baptist reported an operating loss of $56.6 million in 2013, and Standard & Poor's downgraded the system's credit rating. In 2014, Wake Forest Baptist suffered a $78.4 million operating loss and a 2.8% drop in net patient revenue, with inpatient admissions down 6.3%.
