Atrium Health’s Charlotte-area and Georgia operations made a $1.73 billion profit last year, doubling its net income of $867 million a year earlier.
The number doesn’t include other regions with hospitals operated by Atrium parent Advocate Health, including the Triad and Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas.
The Atrium profit included $1 billion of investment income and a $711 million gain from operations. The system didn’t disclose the amount of its investment portfolio.
Revenue gained 8.9% to $14.2 billion. The system’s operating margin before depreciation and interest was 9.4%.
The gains were “primarily driven by steady patient volumes in many of our key service lines, greater N.C. HASP revenues and one-time COVID-related grant recognition items,” according to a report released at Wednesday’s board meeting. HASP refers to the Healthcare Access and Stabilization programs that reimburse hospitals for Medicaid-covered care.
For the year, Atrium said it had about 290,560 bedded patients, performed about 46,000 inpatient surgeries, 96,250 outpatient surgeries and recorded 1.08 million emergency room visits. The average inpatient stay was 5.75 days.
The system employed 53,511 people, mostly in the Charlotte area, where it is the region’s largest employer. That was nearly 3,600 more people than a year earlier, a 7% increase.
Atrium spent $998 million on capital projects last year, or 7% of net operating revenue. The organization has been on an expansion spree in recent years, including The Pearl research operation and a new office tower at the main Charlotte campus. Those two projects each entail investments of about $1 billion.
This year, Atrium expects operating income to decline by 10.6% because it projects expenses will grow faster than the expected 4.9% increase in revenue. Capital expense is slated for $1.07 billion.
Atrium board Chair Angelique Vincent-Hamacher told board members she expects more “cost pressures” and “margin compression” this year, without sharing any details. Board members didn’t ask questions about the financial report during their public session.
Atrium’s revenue mostly comes from the Charlotte area, but includes the organization’s Georgia operations. The Atrium Health business makes up more than a third of the parent organization Advocate Health, which had about $35 billion in revenue last year.
Advocate is the third-largest U.S. not-for-profit hospital operator, while Atrium Health is North Carolina’s biggest healthcare system. Advocate reported net income of nearly $2.9 billion in 2024 and $2.2 billion in 2023. CEO Gene Woods is based in Charlotte.
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