Saint Vincent parent profited $139M in quarter after nurses strike ended

Photo | Grant Welker Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester

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By Alexander MacDougall

Tenet Health Corp., the Dallas-based multinational parent company of Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, on Wednesday reported $139 million in profits for the first quarter, the first one since the 301-day nurses strike ended at the Worcester hospital.

The company posted an overall net revenue of $4.7 billion for the fiscal quarter, a slight decrease from the first quarter of last year. The company's overall net income, or profit, was $139 million.

In its hospital division, which includes Saint Vincent, the company's net operating revenue was $3.7 billion for the fiscal quarter, a slight decrease from the overall revenue from the first quarter of the previous year. The company attributed the decline to the sale of the company’s Miami-area hospitals. The overall earnings for the hospital segment of the company was $555 million for the quarter.

Though the press release reporting the earnings on Wednesday does not make any mention of the nursing strike, the company did note its earning margins from their hospital operations, while reflecting growth from the previous year, were nonetheless affected by an increase in labor costs.

The report "reflects continued strength in patient acuity due to the company's focus on growing higher acuity services, partially offset by elevated contract labor rates and premium pay,” the report notes.

In the company’s annual report for the previous fiscal year, Tenet noted the strike under part of its risk factors.

“Extended strikes have had, and could in the future have, an adverse effect on our patient volumes, net operating revenues and labor costs at individual hospitals or in local markets,” the annual report reads.

Nurses at Saint Vincent’s hospital went on strike in March 8, 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and picketed for more than 300 days, with an agreement with the hospital finally coming to a conclusion on Jan. 3. It is estimated that the hospital spent at least $31 million dollars on staffing and police detail throughout the course of the strike. Saint Vincent’s has since appointed a new chief nursing officer, Jay Prosser, to the hospital since the conclusion of the strike.