GHS approves $2B Budget

On Tuesday, the Greenville Health System Board of Trustees unanimously passed a $2 billion operating revenue budget that will expand access to patient care, enhance quality and help create more than 500 additional jobs in the Upstate. While the budget calls for a jobs increase, it does not call for a price increase. For the second straight year, room rates will remain unchanged. With the addition of Oconee Memorial Hospital employees this week, GHS has approximately 12,927 full-time equivalency positions. GHS, like other healthcare systems nationwide, continues to deal with the costs of charity care and bad debt. A reflection of the overall economy, charity and bad debt are budgeted at approximately $524 million in FY 2015, an increase of 14.1% over the FY 2014 projection. The addition of Oconee Memorial Hospital on Oct. 1 contributed $43.9 million of the increase over the projection.