OHSU CFO Credits Growth Strategy for Operating Margin Turnaround
OHSU Executive Vice President and CFO Maulin Patel said the Portland academic medical center's swing from a $118 million operating loss (-2.1% margin) in fiscal year 2025 to $135 million operating income (2.2% margin) in fiscal year 2026 resulted from an intentional growth strategy begun two years earlier. Patel, speaking on a Becker's podcast, said complex care activity rose about 30% year over year, net patient revenue grew 20%, clinical revenue grew about 18.5%, and research grants hit a record, while expense growth was held to about 9.5% and FTE growth to about 2%. He said the system remains about halfway back to its pre-pandemic 4% to 5% operating margins. OHSU plans to release a new strategic plan in 2027, its first since before the pandemic.