Froedtert Health saw its earnings rebound during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, recording roughly $264.6 million in revenues and gains in excess of expenses and losses, according to an unaudited quarterly report released this week.
While its operating revenue minus expenses was hit by higher staffing expenses and down slightly from last year ($66 million compared to $99.9 million in fiscal year 2022), the health care provider benefitted from far healthier results in its non-operating gains. Its non-operating gains in fiscal year 2023 were more than $198.6 million. In 2022, the health network saw a loss in that area of just over $225.68 million.
The increase in non-operating gains was largely due to higher investment earnings generated from investments, the report said.
The health care network also benefited from a more than 20% increase in clinic and outpatient visits in fiscal year 2023 compared to fiscal year 2022. According to the report, FH’s affiliated clinics saw more than 1.21 million visits in fiscal year 2023, an increase of 207,039 over fiscal year 2022.
The increase was primarily due to the bounce back of volumes after COVID-19, the report states, with specialty-care visits and procedures having returned to pre-pandemic levels. Froedtert’s primary-care practices also continue to grow as a result of increased patient demand and provider recruitment, the health care provider says. Froedtert has opened a handful of new clinics since COVID-19 was at its peak.
Froedtert also benefitted from a slight decrease in costly in-patient stays at its 10 hospitals – down from 52,404 to 52,595 – largely due to a decrease in COVID-19 admissions. But hospital admissions were still about 7,271 admissions above the level they were at the end of fiscal year 2019, before the pandemic sent hospital admissions sky-high across the country.
It should also be noted, however, that Froedtert has also opened smaller community-based hospitals since 2019, like the one that opened in Mequon in 2022, which has eight in-patient beds.
Froedtert Health is currently in the process of merging with Neenah-based ThedaCare, which operates eight hospitals and nearly three dozen clinics and health care centers in northeast and central Wisconsin.
The merger is slated to be completed sometime in 2024.
