The 2017 hurricane season cost HCA $140 million in revenue losses and storm-related expenses, according to the company’s third quarter earnings report. The storms are one of the biggest factors cited to explain a drop in profits for the period.
Texas and Florida are two of the Nashville-based hospital chain’s largest markets. HCA has 50 campuses and 63,000 employees in Florida. In the Houston area alone, the company owns 15 hospital campuses —
some of them acquired just this year — along with numerous freestanding emergency rooms and surgery centers.
“All of these facilities were affected either directly or indirectly,” CEO Milton Johnson told investors on a conference call Tuesday.
Some hospitals in Houston were evacuated during Hurricane Harvey. Some received evacuees from both HCA hospitals and others. (One facility in Corpus Christi
delivered a baby named after the hurricane.)
At this point, all of the company’s hospitals have returned to normal operation except the 131-bed East Houston Regional Medical Center.
According to the Houston Chronicle, it’s still unclear whether the facility will relocate or rebuild.
Generally, HCA hospitals have “recovered well [with] no indication of permanent issues,” chief operating officer Sam Hazen said.
The $140 million in hurricane losses and costs does not account for any insurance money that could be received in the future.
HCA is one of Nashville’s largest private employers and is the biggest for-profit hospital chain in the country.
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