UPDATE: Boone Hospital Center’s losses were about $20-million less in 2023 than year before

One of Columbia/Boone County’s largest employers says its hospital in Columbia had positive cash flow in two months near the end of 2023 for the first time since its separation from St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare in 2021.

939 the Eagle’s Mike Murphy, who publishes Comobuzz-dot-com, reports that during this week’s Boone Hospital Center board of trustees meeting, hospital chief executive officer Ed Clayton said the hospital’s finances have been on an upward trend for some time. The online news publication reports the hospital is still enduring significant operating losses but that the losses were nearly $20-million less in 2023 than they were in 2022.

Boone Hospital Center is Columbia/Boone County’s sixth-largest employer, according to 2023 statistics from Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI). REDI says Boone Hospital Center has 1,581 employees.