KANSAS CITY, Kan. –The University of Kansas Hospital broke more patient volume records in Fiscal Year 2013, while continuing to treat the “sickest of the sick” at its facilities.
In Fiscal Year 2013, which ended June 30, patient volume (as measured by inpatient admissions) soared to new heights of 30,705, a 4.5% increase over FY12.
It also marked a 135% increase since the independent Hospital Authority was created in 1998.
Also for FY13, outpatient visits rose 6% to 562,977, while emergency visits climbed 5.9% to 50,620.
Total surgeries in the fiscal year rose 10% to 20,774 spurred on by the opening of the Indian Creek Campus and new operating rooms in the main hospital.
“In spite of adding new patient units and new outpatient facilities, The University of Kansas Hospital continued to operate at near capacity in Fiscal Year 2013,” said Bob Page, president and chief executive officer of The University of Kansas Hospital. “We are now operating with 699 staffed beds plus 24 bassinets but we continue to have high patient census as the demand for our services continues to grow locally, regionally and nationally. We are looking for ways to invest in more patient units, while experiencing significantly reduced reimbursement, especially from Medicare.”
Not only was the hospital’s patient volume high, but the severity of the illness of those hospitalized was the highest ever recorded in FY 2013. The measurement, called the case mix index, rose by 1.8 percent last year, keeping the hospital in the top 25% of teaching hospitals in caring for the sickest patients.
“The quality of our care remains our focus even during this time of significant growth. In fact, the growth itself, the national rankings and all the other accolades stem from our focus on the patient,” said Tammy Peterman, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of The University of Kansas Hospital.
Peterman also noted that in FY13, the hospital served patients from all 105 counties in Kansas and 86 percent of Missouri’s 114 counties and the City of St. Louis. The hospital also saw patients from 49 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
