Community Health Systems in Franklin, TN, was looking like a turnaround story.
But the pressures of the pandemic and a high debt load are weighing on the hospital chain, Bloomberg reports. Community cut its earnings forecast when it reported results in April, and its bonds and stock have been sliding since March.
The hospital chain isn’t alone. The higher labor, supply costs and lower revenues that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic have squelched earnings at other large for-profit chains including HCA Healthcare and Universal Health Services. At the same time, billions of dollars in government aid allotted to help hospitals weather the pandemic are drying up.
CHS ended the first three months of 2022 with a net loss of $1 million. Read more.
