WakeMed ends FY 2015 with $49.9M loss

Ayla Ellison -

WakeMed Health & Hospitals reported an operating loss for fiscal year 2015, which is only the second time in the health system's 54-year history that it has done so, according to The News&Observer.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based health system's operating revenue has remained flat in recent years at about $1 billion, but one-time expenses caused financial challenges in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to WakeMed CFO Michael Browning.

The 919-bed health system posted an operating loss of $49.9 million in FY 2015. Mr. Browning attributed the loss to three main expenses: a costly Epic software installation, opening a 61-bed hospital, and operating a program that tracks and assists chronically ill patients, according to the report.

Mr. Browning referred to the three major expenses as an "investment in the future," and told The News&Observer the system expects to return to profitability in 2016.

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