{"id":46942,"date":"2023-01-26T11:48:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/staffing-woes-set-to-weigh-on-hospital-operators-profits\/"},"modified":"2023-01-26T11:48:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:48:09","slug":"staffing-woes-set-to-weigh-on-hospital-operators-profits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/staffing-woes-set-to-weigh-on-hospital-operators-profits\/","title":{"rendered":"Staffing woes set to weigh on hospital operator’s profits"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jan 26 (Reuters) – Hospital operators in the U.S. are likely to see a dip in fourth-quarter profits as an ongoing staffing crunch limits their ability to take advantage of an early onset of the flu season and boost admissions.<\/p>\n

Nursing shortages at hospitals have persisted for years and have worsened during the pandemic, driving up costs for hospitals as they seek to retain staff.<\/p>\n

Although shortages and associated costs have improved over the course of 2022, analysts say it is still not enough to lift growth in elective procedures and offset the impact of high costs.<\/p>\n

“We still continue to see staffing limitations as a gating factor for overall procedure growth in the U.S. It is not worsening, but there are no clear signs yet that it is getting much better either,” said Scott Fidel, analyst at Stephen.<\/p>\n

Even with slightly higher admissions because of the flu, analysts say any boost from lower-margin respiratory hospitalizations is likely to be minimal as hospitals do not have the capacity to resume high-margin elective procedures.<\/p>\n

“Hospitals may have been a little bit too rosy in providing expectations and guidance for how much they think volume will grow,” CFRA analyst Daniel Rich said.<\/p>\n

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