Heart Institute restart boosts financial picture at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

Fiscal year 2021 got off to a strong start at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

The 259-bed pediatric hospital in St. Petersburg posted gains in both operating revenue and income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the three-month period that ended Sept 30, compared to the same quarter in fiscal year 2020.

The hospital’s total surplus, including non-operating revenue and expenses, for Q1 FY 2021 was $36.7 million, compared to a deficit of $8.1 million in the year-ago period. Johns Hopkins All Children’s ended the quarter on Sept. 30 with $644.75 million in net assets, up about 3 percent during the three-month period.

The hospital, one of the larger employers in St. Petersburg and a pillar of the local medical community, has had an improved financial picture since it resolved issues involving its pediatric cardiology program. Following reports of high death rates in the program, Johns Hopkins All Children’s rebuilt its Heart Institute with new physicians and systems, while also implementing new safety processes and protocols throughout the hospital.

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The Heart Institute restart played a key role in the improved financial picture, said Gerard Theriac, interim chief financial officer.

“While Covid has presented many challenges for the healthcare industry, we’ve continued to keep a close watch on our operations and finances. The past quarter has been successful thanks to the safe restart of Heart Institute back in the spring, as well as the increase in heart surgery cases. Families also continue to turn to us for complex care, particularly in our Neonatal ICU and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia units. We recognize this is just one quarter, there will be continued challenges during the pandemic, and we want to be prepared operationally and financially for the anticipated surge of Covid-19 cases this winter,” Theriac said in a written statement to the St. Pete Catalyst.

It’s hard to predict the impact on the hospitals that make up the Johns Hopkins Health System, the Baltimore, Maryland-based organization said in a quarterly report. That depends on how long the outbreak lasts, actions by government authorities and the private sector to limit the spread, requirements to wear masks and take other safety precautions, and the economic impact on the patients and the communities Johns Hopkins serves, the system said.