Byline: Marsha Austin
Nov. 23--Centura Health, Colorado's largest hospital system, improved net income 3 percent in fiscal 2005 while committing $1 billion to construction and spending about $300 million on uninsured patients, according to the nonprofit's annual report.
Centura, in its fiscal year that ended June 30, earned net income of $109 million, up from $105 million in 2004.
The hospital system reported revenues of $1.3 billion in fiscal 2005 -- a 6.5 percent increase.
Charity-care spending grew by $78 million, 30 percent, to $333 million, it said.
'The increase in our revenue has enabled us to reinvest in our facilities and bring new and better services and technologies to our patients,' Centura spokeswoman Dana Berry said in a statement.
The 12-hospital system is a joint venture between Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives and Orlando, Fla.-based Adventist Health System.
Centura also operates a home-health service, nursing homes, sports clinics and outpatient surgery centers.
HCA-owned HealthOne, Centura's largest competitor, said this month that it will spend $250 million during the next three years on expansion projects, including a new children's hospital downtown.
Spending money on building facilities and expanding services helps hospitals bring in more revenue, said Allan Baumgarten, publisher of the annual Colorado Managed Care Review.
As hospitals gain greater market share, they are able to force health insurance plans to agree to higher prices, Baumgarten said.
'They've got the upper hand right now,' Baumgarten said.
Among Centura's 2005 projects are:
--A new St. Anthony Central Hospital in Lakewood, slated to open in early 2010.
--A $78 million expansion at Littleton Adventist Hospital, including upgrades for the emergency department and advanced neonatal intensive care unit.
--A 35-bed expansion of Parker Adventist Hospital and expanded outpatient rehabilitation center.
--Expansion and renovation of St. Anthony North Hospital's emergency department and remodeling its Birth Place and Women's Services unit.
--A new hospital in Summit County -- St. Anthony Summit Medical Center. The facility is the first hospital in the county.
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