Hospitals across the state ended the first quarter with $103.5 million in operating losses, mostly due to rising operational costs and employee payroll, according to a report released Aug. 9 from the Oregon Health Authority.
“OHA recognizes rising personnel expenses are a growing concern for Oregon’s hospitals,” Dave Baden, the health authority’s CFO, told the publication. “Anecdotally, we hear that temporary staffing costs made up a large portion of the increased expense. We hope that with a return to normal staffing, some of the expense growth will taper off.”
Operating costs grew by $559.1 million compared to the first quarter of 2021. Payroll accounted for $330 million of this growth.
