Operating income for the 27-hospital system totaled $278.7 million for the period compared with $232.9 million in 2022.
Expenses continued to be a drag, totaling $3.2 billion in the first quarter, 4.2 percent higher than the same period in 2022. Of that, salary, wage and benefits expenses were 3.6 percent up on the corresponding period, totaling $1.75 billion, lower proportionally than in recent months.
Contract labor, for example, is likely to be a sustained challenge on operating performance, UHS said.
“The nationwide shortage of nurses and other clinical staff and support personnel has been a significant operating issue facing us and other healthcare providers.” UHS said. Continued reliance on contract labor to address that is likely to have “an unfavorable material impact on our results of operations for the foreseeable future.”
UHS employs almost 100,000 people.
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