Erlanger Health System is now the nation’s seventh largest public hospital system, according to Modern Healthcare’s 2015 Hospital Systems Survey.
Rankings for the survey were based on net patient revenue for 2014.
Among all public hospital systems in the nation, Erlanger ranked seventh based on net patient revenue of $582.5 million for 2014. The Chattanooga-based health system placed tenth in the rankings last year with $537.5 million in net patient revenue for 2013.
“Very few public hospital systems in the United States can match the extent and quality of services that Erlanger offers,” said Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, President and CEO of Erlanger Health System. “As we continue to expand our services and facilities, I anticipate that our ranking will continue to climb in future surveys.”
Increases in patient revenue and facility growth have also boosted Erlanger’s payroll, with the employment count swelling to more than 5,300, as of June 30, 2015. Growth in employment during Erlanger’s fiscal year (July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015) is shown by the following:
July 1, 2014 June 30, 2015
Total employees* 4,933 5,344
Full-time employees 3,541 3,997
Part-time employees 1,392 1,347
Nurses, full-time & part-time 1,767 1,924
Employed physicians 142 165
*Numbers include employment by ContinuCare, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Erlanger
In addition to Erlanger employees, the health system also employs hundreds of contract workers from such industries as nutrition, technology and construction services. The $50 million expansion of Erlanger East Hospital, for example, will employ between 800 to 1,000 construction workers over the next 18 months.
Joseph M. Winick, FACHE, Erlanger Senior Vice President for Planning, Analytics, and Business Development, predicts that “Erlanger will employ an additional 150 full and part-time team members when the current construction project expands Erlanger East’s inpatient capacity to 107 beds.” This expansion is being financed by $70 million in bonds issued by Erlanger and sold to Wall Street investors in late 2014 for the purpose of financing capital projects like the Erlanger East Hospital expansion.
Modern Healthcare, the hospital industry’s leading publication, also ranks Erlanger Health System in the 2015 Hospital Systems Survey as 118th in the nation among all US healthcare systems in terms of net patient revenue for 2014.