MADISON, Wis. – For fiscal year 2024, July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, UW Health is sharing key care, workforce and financial outcomes for the health system.
This past fiscal year UW Health achieved many milestones that showcase the system’s innovation and leadership, according to Dr. Alan Kaplan, CEO, UW Health.
“We’re taking some incredible strides to meet that enormous demand for remarkable care in our community and beyond,” he said. “As we begin to welcome our first patients at the new UW Health Eastpark Medical Center, I am reflecting on why we decided to open this state-of-the-art facility and how much we’ve accomplished over the last 12 months.”
Demand for care at UW Health continues to be at an all-time high, according to Dr. Peter Newcomer, chief operating officer, UW Health.
- Approximately 832,300 patients received care in the 2024 fiscal year:
- 498,300 patients at UW Health in Wisconsin
- 173,400 at UW Health in northern Illinois
- 1,300 at the UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital
- 159,400 at UnityPoint Health – Meriter, with which UW Health has a joint operating agreement
- Record levels of care this year included:
- 3,831,200 outpatient appointments
- 237,400 emergency department visits
- 85,900 surgeries
“What we saw last year has held true,” Newcomer said. “We’re seeing more patients than ever before, from primary care to the most complex specialty care, and we’re growing to meet that need.”
UW Health announced a new rehabilitation facility will be built in Fitchburg in partnership with UnityPoint Health – Meriter and LifePoint Rehabilitation. UW Health also announced plans to expand both Madison-based hospitals, University Hospital and East Madison Hospital, to better address the rising demand for care. The health system also opened the third UW Health Med Flight base outside of Madison in Janesville to reach patients who need critical care south and east of the state’s capitol. UW Health also began welcoming patients to an employer-based primary care clinic in Rockford.
In addition to new facilities, UW Health also kicked off several innovative programs this year designed to make it easier to access valuable care:
- The health system launched a hospital-at-home program, bringing hospital-level care to patients at home, including this grateful 95-year-old patient.
- Nurses and physicians at UW Health are piloting artificial intelligence support to draft online patient communication.
- UW Health launched programs to address behavioral health needs, including the Compass Program, a walk-in program specifically designed for patients who need care for addiction, and Collaborative Care, which integrated mental health specialists into all primary care locations in Wisconsin to lower barriers to accessing mental health care.
- The health system is also making accessing medication easier, with pharmacy kiosks that are accessible 24/7, and Eastpark Medical Center will also feature the first drive-thru pharmacy at UW Health.
- The Initiative for Theranostics and Particle Therapy was launched at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, to accelerate precision radiation therapy and imaging.
The Carbone Cancer Center also highlighted several lifesaving clinical trials this year, with patients sharing their experiences with breast, kidney, uterine and prostate cancer clinical trials. Clinical trials are easier than ever for patients to access at UW Health, with recruitment now possible on MyChart and the new clinical research unit at Eastpark.
Clinical trials are not just for patients with cancer. UW Health helped one patient become the first in Wisconsin to receive a recently approved drug to slow the progression of ALS through a clinical trial, and another patient was the first in Wisconsin to join a clinical trial for a new method to eliminate kidney stones.
Experts at UW Health and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health also shared how they were able to help a young patient become stroke-free by developing a new way to treat Moyamoya disease.
The UW Health Transplant Center also had a lot to celebrate this year. The center released a first-of-its-kind study that showed kidney transplant outcomes have improved significantly over the last 50 years. The center also performed its first pediatric heart transplant, 4,000th living donation, and 20,000th organ transplant.
The workforce at UW Health is growing alongside patient appointments and facilities. In total, UW Health added more than 1,300 new employees to the workforce in the 2024 fiscal year. Hiring is just one way UW Health is a leader in workforce development, according to Betsy Clough, chief human resources officer, UW Health.
“We are thinking about the future of the health workforce from every angle,” she said. “We want to be the best place to work and hire the best people, and we know that to do that we have to create pathways for people to get the training and education they need to have a fulfilling and successful career in health care.”
In the last year, UW Health, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and Madison College partnered to launch the first respiratory therapist registered apprenticeship in the United States. The medical assistant registered apprenticeship at UW Health, which was the third of its kind in the nation and the first in Wisconsin, celebrated its fifth anniversary, surpassing more than 200 medical assistants trained in that time. In Dane County, UW Health invested in workforce housing, and became the county’s largest employer of youth apprentices. UW Health in northern Illinois also graduated the inaugural cohort from a first-of-its-kind pharmacy technician summer internship for high school students. UW Health partnered with national nonprofit Heroes for Healthcare to connect military veterans with civilian jobs in medicine.
UW Health ended the fiscal year with an admirable financial performance, according to Bob Flannery, chief financial officer, UW Health.
For the 2024 fiscal year, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and UnityPoint Health – Meriter reported the following for the service areas outlined in their joint operating agreement:
- Operating revenue totaled more than $5.7 billion, up from $5.1 billion the previous year.
- Operating expenses totaled more than $5.5 billion, up from $5 billion.
- The operating margin was 3.6%, up from 1.4%.
“2024 presented challenges with ongoing inflation and supply chain disruptions,” he said. “But our incredible team continued to find new processes to provide care at record-setting levels, and invest in the future of the health system.”
UW Health received several accolades this year. For the 13th consecutive year, it was ranked the best hospital in Wisconsin, received several national honors for sustainability and was named a leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare equality. The UW Health Rehabilitation Hospital was listed in the top 10% of rehabilitation hospitals in the country.
These records and milestones are some of the reasons UW Health is consistently rated the best in Wisconsin, according to Kaplan.
“We’re Wisconsin’s health system,” he said. “That’s why our 24,000 faculty and staff do what they do every day, providing the highest quality care and finding innovative ways to support the future of health care professionals and improve health outcomes for all.”