The nation’s biggest hospital chain which treated nearly 40,000 inpatient COVID-19 cases in the past quarter expects the share of coronavirus cases to decline in 2021 but still comprise up to 5% of its hospital admissions through 2021 as the virus lingers in the United States next year.
HCA, the Nashville-based hospital chain that owns Parkridge hospitals in Chattanooga, said Monday that about 6% of its hospital beds are filled with COVID-19 patients being treated for symptoms of the respiratory virus. Despite the number and extended length of such cases, overall hospital admissions at HCA hospitals were down 3.8% in the past quarter and are projected to still be 2% lower than 2019 volumes next year.
Emergency room visits dropped 20.3% and inpatient surgeries were off 6.8% in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2019. The decline is primarily from minor accidents and illnesses not coming to hospital ERs due, in part, to concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Holdings, told analysts Monday that hospitals expect to be treating COVID-19 patients throughout 2021 and will be treating fewer but more medically acute cases and sicker patients in its facilities.
“Recognizing that there are many variables that could affect next year, at this point, we believe it is reasonable to estimate around 4% to 5% of our 2021 admissions could be related to the virus,” Hazen said. “This factor suggests continued high levels of acuity and our overall mix of inpatient business, which should provide some support for current inpatient revenue trends Overall, we believe demand for inpatient admissions next year will be down from 2019 approximately 2% to 3% but again with the mix being more acute.”