UMass Memorial posts 2015 revenue, patient growth

SAM BONACCI UMass Memorial President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson announcing that 500 jobs would be brought to downtown Worcester by the end of 2017 during a recent press conference.

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By Sam Bonacci

UMass Memorial Health Care posted continued revenue growth through fiscal 2015 while reporting more patients served throughout a system that is moving more towards outpatient care.

The largest employer in Worcester reported revenue of just under $2.174 billion for 2015, a growth of $21.8 million over fiscal year 2014. This came as a sign of continuing growth and turnaround for the organization over the course of the 2015 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

The network of hospitals saw growth in discharges of 2,000 over the prior year, according to Sergio Melgar, the organization’s chief financial officer. This growth was spread throughout the entire system. This combined with keeping costs controlled allowed the organization to catch that rising volume and achieve its margins, Melgar said during a conference call Friday.

“We see continuous improvements in terms of the operating performance and core earnings beneath that,” said UMass President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson. “We’ve seen some growth in volume beyond what is seen in the rest of Massachusetts.”

This uptick in market share was attributed to ongoing efforts by the hospital from its front lines up to the continued investment in technologies such as catheter based surgeries that allow patients to undergo minimally invasive, and less costly, procedures, according to Dickson.

The organization has also seen an uptick in outpatient services, he said. Melgar confirmed that the patient mix that was previously 52 percent inpatient and 48 percent outpatient had flipped directly around, with 52 percent of patients for the system being outpatient in 2015. This comes as the hospital continues to decentralize, Dickson said.

The hospital is poised to undertake a large IT growth that will partially help connect those decentralized locations. Employment growth in the human resources and information technology sectors is currently underway, said Dickson, with the market dictating where other full time employees will be required. The organization’s officials expected modest growth in full time employees.