PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The strike by nurses at Providence Portland, Seaside and Home Health and Hospice has now entered its third day.
Nurses say they’re paid below the market value, but how much money does Providence Health and Services have to pay?
Providence has $26 billion in assets and pays several employees seven-figure salaries. But since the pandemic, its costs have skyrocketed.
Providence has been losing money since the end of 2021, according to financial statements posted on its website.
CEO Rod Hochman leads earners at Providence according to several reports and 990 forms, with a salary between $9.5 and $10.5 million. The next highest earner makes around $3.5 million. Several reports tally that there are between 19 to 26 executive employees making at least $1 million.
Providence faced a $1.7 billion operations deficit last year, though there are signs the bleeding is slowing. Through the first quarter of last year, Providence was $510 million short. Through the first quarter of this year, it’s short $345 million.
Revenues last year increased by 8% but pharmaceutical and medical equipment costs increased by 13% and labor costs were up 5% as the hospital relied more on contracts with staffing agencies versus staffing employees because of the labor shortages. A Providence spokesperson says the costs of staffing agencies vary by area and by contract. Nurses on the picket line say travel and agency nurses make significantly more than those on staff.
Before the strike began, Providence offered a contract with $35 million more in salaries to nurses, though the Oregon Nurses Association says that didn’t provide equal pay ranges across all nursing positions and didn’t address their concerns over retirement benefits and paid time off.
Providence isn’t the only hospital system in the red. The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems says that 63% of Oregon hospitals are facing deficits right now.
“The trend over time for the last two years is expenses have outpaced revenues and when you see sustained losses like that over such an extended period of time, hospitals are really forced to make difficult decisions,” said Lisa Goodman of OAHHS. “Because there is a nationwide workforce shortage, hospitals have had to rely on outside agencies to fill needed positions.”
Providence announced a restructuring plan last year, that indicated an intention to focus on recruiting and retaining employees. That plan cut Providence’s region from seven to three and included cutting executive staff positions. A spokesperson was unable to say how many positions were cut, but says some roles were eliminated, people who retired or left voluntarily were not replaced and vacant positions have not been backfilled.