Hospital admissions drop in Florida

NAPLES — Hospital operator Health Management Associates alerted investors that its hospital admissions declined 8.8% in the first quarter compared with the same quarter in 2012.

The company attributed the drop to an increase in observation stays and a decline in uninsured inpatient volumes. As a result, HMA told investors that it expects to post net revenue of $1.48 billion, flat compared with the same quarter last year.

“We believe that preliminary results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, are a reflection of the difficult operating environment for inpatient services,” says Gary Newsome, HMA's president and CEO, in a statement. “In the past, we have prepared our Florida hospitals for the first quarter of the year, our seasonally busiest quarter, by adding additional staffing. However, in this year's first quarter, our historical volume levels did not materialize as increases in observation stays impacted our results.”