The company suffered a rough second quarter with decreases across the board year over year.
"Challenging operating dynamics" between lower than anticipated volume and significant contract labor costs resulted in a difficult second quarter of the year for Community Health Systems.
The Franklin, Tennessee-based company reported a net loss of $326 million in its Q2 earnings report, which marks a sizeable decline from the $6 million in net income over the same period in 2021.
Operating revenue, meanwhile, was $2.93 billion, representing a 2.4% decrease compared to $3 billion last year.
Expenses increased year over year from $2.69 billion to $2.82 billion, and Community Health Systems CEO Tim Hingtgen attributed much of that to contract labor costs driven by the labor market and inflationary pressures.
He also pointed to lower volume, as admissions decreased 3.5% from 111,543 to 107,805 year over year, while adjusted admissions dropped by 0.5% from 248,013 to 247,119.
Hingtgen expressed optimism for a bounce back in admission volume, as well as in strategies to combat the labor issue.
"We have initiatives underway intended to actively address these pressures by accelerating strategic growth opportunities in key markets, aggressively working to recruit and retain permanent staff to replace contract labor, achieving incremental expense reductions, and leveraging our centralized resources to achieve improved results," Hingtgen said in a statement.
"Over the past several quarters, we have made strategic investments in our markets, and we continue to believe we are well-positioned to meet healthcare demand and take market share as patient volumes return. We are committed to intense operational execution, and we remain confident that our strategies will deliver long-term growth and value."
The 83-hospital system did complete the divestiture of one hospital in July, but received the proceeds at a preliminary closing for the second quarter.
Jay Asser is the contributing editor for strategy at HealthLeaders.