The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences of Little Rock reported an improved financial condition for its fiscal year that ended June 30.
UAMS, which features the state’s only teaching hospital, reported a decrease in net position of $1.76 million for its fiscal year that ended in June 30, compared with a decrease of $46.16 million the previous year. Its net position includes line items such as total revenue and expenses and paper investment income, which was $23.8 million in the fiscal year, according to financial filings provided by UAMS to Arkansas Business.
“We were happy with where we ended the fiscal year,” said Amanda George, UAMS’ CFO and vice chancellor for finance. UAMS had budgeted for a decrease in net position of $8 million for its fiscal year that ended in June.
Excluding the investment income, UAMS listed a loss of $26.1 million for the fiscal year, compared with a loss of $74.4 million the previous year. Those figures include all sources of revenue and expenses.
During the fiscal year, UAMS’ total operating revenue increased 7.7% to $2.06 billion.
UAMS’ net patient services increased 9.2% to $1.4 billion. George attributed the increase to UAMS’ new clinical locations that opened last year.
In May 2023, UAMS opened its $85 million Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital in Little Rock. In July 2023 UAMS’ Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute opened its $65 million, 58,000-SF Radiation Oncology Center.
Still, in the first half of the fiscal year, it looked as if UAMS would struggle financially. In August 2023, it borrowed $30 million from Arkansas’ Budget Stabilization Trust Fund. That loan was repaid by May. UAMS also laid off 51 workers in September 2023.
During the fiscal year, UAMS’ operating expenses increased 4.7% to $2.17 billion.
George said the financial improvements are tied to new workforce initiatives. For example, in an inpatient unit, if the patient load drops, employees adjust their hours to meet demand, she said. “And we’ve seen a pretty significant impact from doing that,” George said.
To boost revenue, UAMS will continue to grow its inpatient services, she said. In June, it added 26 beds to its hospital. “That will allow us to get more patients into our hospital,” she said. “We’re pretty full most days on our inpatient side.”
And UAMS’s improvement is continuing this fiscal year. “We are two months in, and so far we are positive $6.2 million overall,” George said.
It is budgeted to be in the black this year. UAMS is “optimistic, but also know that two months is not enough to feel that we have reached a consistent, predictable financial performance,” George said. “But we are pleased to start off the year on the right foot.”
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