Erlanger Health System's board of trustees unanimously approved an $815 million operating budget for 2016-2017 at its monthly meeting Thursday.
"This is probably the most exciting time in our modern history," Erlanger CEO Kevin Spiegel said, pointing to the addition of nearly 400 additional staff, the opening of Erlanger East, and a capital budget of $45 million.
The budget puts net revenue from patients at $803 million for the year, up 8.3 percent from 2015-16. The hospital expects to receive another $12.6 million from other sources.
The FY 2017 budget reflects a 10.6 percent increase in acute admissions and a 20.1 percent hike in inpatient surgeries, based largely on the health system's expanding its operating room capacity by 25 percent.
The budget predicts expenses will be $802 million, including $421 million in salaries and benefits, up 10.4 percent from this year.
While Erlanger is a not-for-profit institution, officials predict revenues will exceed expenses by $15.2 million in the coming year.
Chief Financial Officer Britt Tabor previously warned the board's budget committee that the hospital is in the middle of two major projects that will have a big impact on the budget - the opening of an expanded Erlanger East hospital and a $33 million capital expense for a new computerized hospital records system, called EPIC.
The hospital's total capital budget will be $45.4 million. Besides the EPIC expense, the hospital will spend $2.8 million on a linear accelerator for the Cancer Center at Erlanger East, and $1.2 million for a new surgical admitting unit.
Erlanger officials predict 4,853 people will be employed by the hospital system next year, compared to 4,481 this year, with an average salary of $33.30 per hour.
Contact staff writer Steve Johnson at 423-757-6673, sjohnson@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @stevejohnsonTFP, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/noogahealth.