Most Health Care Firms Saw Revenue Grow in 2011

For the health care companies on the Arkansas Business list of the largest private companies, 2011 was a year without a clear revenue trend.

(Click here to see the largest private health care companies in Arkansas.)

Seven of the 12 organizations reported increases in revenue over 2010.

Baptist Health of Little Rock remains the top hospital on the health care list with $962.3 million in revenue in 2011, up 3.8 percent from 2010.

At Conway Regional Medical Center, revenue was up 1.2 percent to $133.8 million.

The Conway hospital saw more outpatient procedures than inpatient ones, “which is kind of an industry trend for the past few years,” said Jim Lambert, president and CEO of Conway Regional.

St. Bernards Healthcare in Jonesboro also saw its outpatient numbers rise, which helped boost its revenue to $538.8 million for its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2011. That was an increase of 3.9 percent over its 2010 number.

St. Bernards CEO Chris Barber also said northeast Arkansas’ population is growing and more doctors are practicing in the area, which helped increase revenue for the hospital.

In 2012, revenue should continue to grow for St. Bernards, Barber said.

One of the companies that saw its revenue fall was Jefferson Hospital Association Inc. in Pine Bluff, which operates the Jefferson Regional Medical Center. For the fiscal year that ended last June 30, JRMC’s revenue fell 5 percent to $190 million.

New on the health care list is the Arkansas Heart Hospital, which became a private company in 2011 after MedCath Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., sold its 70.3 percent stake in the hospital to AR-MED LLC, a group led by Dr. Bruce Murphy of the Little Rock Cardiology Clinic

Arkansas Heart Hospital reported $129 million in revenue, up 10.3 percent from 2010.

The 10.3 percent increase was the highest percentage jump of all the health care companies on the list.

Falling off the list was HealthScope Benefits of Little Rock, which reported revenue of $68.8 million for 2011 — an increase from 2010 but not enough to make the list of the 75 largest private companies.