Universal Health Services 10-K (2022-02-24)

Business

 

Our principal business is owning and operating, through our subsidiaries, acute care hospitals and outpatient facilities and behavioral health care facilities.  

 

acute : very serious or severe / an acute illness is one that has quickly become severe and dangerous / describing or designed for patients suffering from an acute illness 

 

outpatient : a person who goes to a hospital for treatment but does not stay there

 

 

 

As of February 24, 2022, we owned and/or operated 363 inpatient facilities and 40 outpatient and other facilities including the following located in 39 states, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico

 

inpatient : a person who stays in a hospital while receiving treatment

 

 

 

 

 

Net revenues from our acute care hospitals, outpatient facilities and commercial health insurer accounted for 56% of our consolidated net revenues during 2021 and 55% during 2020. Net revenues from our behavioral health care facilities and commercial health insurer accounted for 44% of our consolidated net revenues during 2021 and 45% during 2020.

 

 

 

Our behavioral health care facilities located in the U.K. generated net revenues of approximately $688 million in 2021 and $584 million in 2020. Total assets at our U.K. behavioral health care facilities were approximately $1.351 billion as of December 31, 2021 and $1.334 billion as of December 31, 2020.  

 

 

 

Services provided by our hospitals include general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services and/or behavioral health services. We provide capital resources as well as a variety of management services to our facilities, including central purchasing, information services, finance and control systems, facilities planning, physician recruitment services, administrative personnel management, marketing and public relations.

 

obstetrics : the branch of medicine that deals with the birth of children

 

radiology : the study and use of different types of radiation in medicine, for example to treat diseases

 

oncology : the scientific study of and treatment of tumours in the body

 

coronary : relating to the heart, particularly the arteries that take blood to the heart

 

pediatric : connected with the branch of medicine that deals with children and their diseases (= pediatrics)

 

 

 

Our Mission

 

 

 

 

Business Strategy

 

We believe community-based hospitals will remain the focal point of the healthcare delivery network and we are committed to a philosophy of self-determination for both the company and our hospitals.

 

focal : central; very important; connected with or providing a focus

 

 

 

Acquisition of Additional Hospitals.

 

We selectively seek opportunities to expand our base of operations by acquiring, constructing or leasing additional hospital facilities. We are committed to a program of rational growth around our core businesses, while retaining the missions of the hospitals we manage and the communities we serve.

 

selectively : in a way that affects or involves only a small number of people or things from a larger group / in a way that shows care being taken about what or who is chosen

 

leasing : the act of using or letting somebody use something, especially property or equipment, in exchange for rent or a regular payment

 

 

 

Such expansion may provide us with access to new markets and new healthcare delivery capabilities. We also continue to examine our facilities and consider divestiture of those facilities that we believe do not have the potential to contribute to our growth or operating strategy. 

 

divestiture : the act of selling the shares you have bought in a company or of taking money away from where you have invested it

 

 

 

In recent years our behavioral health services segment has been focused on efforts to partner with non-UHS acute care hospitals to help operate their behavioral health services.  These arrangements include hospital purchases, leased beds and joint venture operating agreements.

 

arrangements : a plan or preparation that you make so that something can happen / the way things are done or organized / an agreement that you make with somebody that you can both accept

 

joint venture : a business project or activity that is begun by two or more companies, etc., which remain separate organizations

 

 

 

Improvement of Operations of Existing Hospitals and Services.

 

We also seek to increase the operating revenues and profitability of owned hospitals by the introduction of new services, improvement of existing services, physician recruitment and the application of financial and operational controls.

 

 

 

We are involved in continual development activities for the benefit of our existing facilities. From time-to-time applications are filed with state health planning agencies to add new services in existing hospitals in states which require certificates of need, or CONs.

 

certificate : an official document that may be used to prove that the facts it states are true / an official document proving that you have completed a course of study or passed an exam; a qualification obtained after a course of study or an exam

 

 

 

Although we expect that some of these applications will result in the addition of new facilities or services to our operations, no assurances can be made for ultimate success by us in these efforts.

 

 

 

Quality and Efficiency of Services.

 

Pressures to contain healthcare costs and technological developments allowing more procedures to be performed on an outpatient basis have led payers to demand a shift to ambulatory or outpatient care wherever possible.

 

procedure : a way of doing something, especially the usual or correct way / the official or formal order or way of doing something, especially in business, law or politics

 

ambulatory : related to or adapted for walking / that is not fixed in one place and can move around easily

 

 

 

We are responding to this trend by emphasizing the expansion of outpatient services. In addition, in response to cost containment pressures, we continue to implement programs at our facilities designed to improve financial performance and efficiency while continuing to provide quality care, including more efficient use of professional and paraprofessional staff, monitoring and adjusting staffing levels and equipment usage, improving patient management and reporting procedures and implementing more efficient billing and collection procedures.

 

containment : the act of keeping something under control so that it cannot spread in a harmful way / the act of keeping another country’s power within limits so that it does not become too powerful

 

implement : to make something that has been officially decided start to happen or be used

 

paraprofessional : a person who has some experience in and training for a particular profession, but who is not yet qualified

 

 

 

In addition, we will continue to emphasize innovation in our response to the rapid changes in regulatory trends and market conditions while fulfilling our commitment to patients, physicians, employees, communities and our stockholders.

 

regulatory : having the power to control an area of business or industry and make sure that it is operating fairly

 

 

 

In addition, our aggressive recruiting of highly qualified physicians and developing provider networks help to establish our facilities as an important source of quality healthcare in their respective communities.

 

 

 

(the rest omitted)