State association issues 2009 guide to hospitals

CRANSTON – Rhode Island’s hospitals handled 442,235 emergency room visits; 130,089 inpatient stays; 35,486 inpatient and 81,776 ambulatory surgeries, and 12,766 baby deliveries in 2008, according to the Hospital Association of Rhode Island’s 2009 Guide to Hospitals.
The guide, issued earlier this month, notes that local hospitals face many challenges, both longstanding and due to the economic crisis, most notably “inadequate” reimbursements and “negligible” margins that threaten their financial viability.
The guide also notes that hospitals have an estimated economic impact of $5.9 billion per year; employ 20,370 health care professionals and have payrolls of $1.6 billion, providing 5 percent of the state’s private sector employment. They also spend more than $1 billion per year.
Along with the statewide data, the guide includes short profiles of HARI’s members – all the independent hospitals in the state, plus the Lifespan health system and the Providence VA Medical Center. The guide is available online at www.hari.org/pubs/09_guide.pdf. &#8226