South Florida hospitals cutting back

Once considered recession-proof, many hospitals are suffering in these tough economic times, but some for-profit hospitals are doing surprisingly well, speakers said at the annual South Florida Healthcare Summit. Nine in 10 hospitals have made cutbacks, said Caroline Rossi Steinberg, a trends specialist with the American Hospital Association. The biggest cuts have been in administrative expenses, but almost half of the hospitals have reduced staff and one in five has cut services. Speaking to more than 200 people at the event, Steinberg said 43% of hospitals surveyed reported a negative net return for the first quarter, compared with 26% for the same period last year.