Nearly three-quarters of healthcare CFOs see patient experience as the most important growth priority for their organizations, according to a Grant Thornton survey of more than 100 CFOs.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he thinks rate cuts are unlikely at the central bank's next meeting in March, Bloomberg reported Jan. 31. 

Fountain Valley, Calif.-based MemorialCare has laid off 72 positions due to restructuring efforts across its Long Beach (Calif.) Medical Center and Long Beach, Calif.-based Miller Children's and Women's Hospital.

CarePoint Health is seeking more than $130 million in state funding and pursuing a unique strategic partnership to shore up its finances and continue to provide critical care services at its three safety-net hospitals, which have seen a combined 50,000 underinsured or uninsured patients since the pandemic. 

Increasing Medicare Advantage spending could be a bright spot for hospitals' finances. 

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare is now operating 186 hospitals and 49,588 total licensed beds, up three hospitals and 279 beds from the third quarter, 2023, according to its financial report released Jan. 30. 

Winona (Minn.) Health received a $3 million gift from anonymous donors that will keep its dialysis program up and running, The Star Tribune reported Jan. 29.

Essentia Health-Fosston (Minn.) and Mayo Clinic Health System's New Prague, Minn., site are facing closure of their labor and delivery units amid ongoing cuts and closures to obstetrics services. 

Venture capital firm General Catalyst's pending acquisition of Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health adds an "unusual wrinkle" to what Fitch Ratings has called a "make-or-break" year for nonprofit hospitals, the ratings agency said in a Jan. 31 report shared with Becker's.  

St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Bayfront Health received a $2 million donation to help build a cardiac hybrid operating room, Catalyst reported Jan. 30.

Hospital stocks are up after Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare posted a $5.2 billion profit Jan. 30, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The challenging economics of providing care in rural communities contribute to gaps in access, according to a Jan. 25 report published by the American Hospital Association. Rural communities, by nature, have fewer people and do not generate the healthcare utilization to finance the full spectrum of healthcare services.

Hospital profitability was up nationally last year as operating margins increased 16% year over year. But not every region experienced the same success, according to data from the Jan. 30 Kaufman Hall "National Hospital Flash Report."

Ensemble Health Partners is joining Epic's new Rev Cycle Partners program, which is designed to help healthcare organizations optimize their use of Epic to improve revenue cycle outcomes. 

CVS Health will close 25 of its MinuteClinic locations across Los Angeles by Feb. 25 to ensure patient and consumer demands align with its healthcare delivery strategy.

Safety-net hospitals, or anchor institutions, must reform themselves in addition to any outside aid received from business leaders and government, the presidents and CEOs of Henry Ford Health and America's Essential Hospitals argue in a piece published by Harvard Business Review. 

The U.S. spends far more on healthcare than other high-income nations, relative to the size of its economy, according to a Jan. 23 analysis published by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on Healthcare.

Washington, D.C.-based George Washington University Hospital, part of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, is laying off "less than 3%" of its employees due to the restructuring in an effort to reduce cost and increase operational efficiency.

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare is expecting its capital spending will be between $5.1 billion and $5.3 billion in 2024, excluding acquisitions. 

Nonprofit hospital expenses dropped from November to December and had low single digit growth year over year, according to Kaufman Hall's "National Hospital Flash Report," released Jan. 30.