Labor is a tougher challenge for behavioral hospitals than acute hospitals, executives for Universal Health Systems executives told investors.
On a Feb. 28 earnings call, executives at the King of Prussia, Pa.-based system said labor has been a more difficult challenge at its behavioral inpatient centers than its acute care locations.
Universal Health Systems operates 333 behavioral inpatient facilities and 27 acute care hospitals. On the acute care side of the business, UHS has been able to fill most necessary positions, sometimes using higher-cost temporary labor, CFO Steve Filton said.
"On the behavioral side, in contrast, in a number of cases, we're simply unable to fill our positions over the last several years, and it has curtailed our volume growth," Mr. Filton said.
UHS CEO Marc Miller said in 2024 the company expects to exceed the 2.1% growth in patient days it reported in 2023. Improving labor market conditions were a significant factor behind the growth, Mr. Miller said, but filling specialty provider positions in some markets continues to limit growth.
UHS added around 250 inpatient treatment beds in 2023, Mr. Miller said, and expects to add a similar amount in 2023.
Acadia Healthcare executives also reported improving labor trends. The system grew its patient days by 5.1% from 2022 to 2023.
Underlying demand for behavioral health services is still high and shows no signs of declining, Chief Financial Officer Heather Dixon said on a Feb. 28 investor call. In addition to high demand, Acadia has added capacity, and fewer labor challenges have contributed to growth, Ms. Dixon said.
"That's certainly contributing to our ability to serve the patients. We're seeing that all of the investments that we've made and our ability to really begin to see stabilization and labor contribute to our ability to serve those beds," she said.