Boston Children's Hospital ended last year with a healthy surplus as its doctors treated growing numbers of patients from the Middle East and other parts of the world.
International business at the nonprofit pediatric hospital soared 54 percent last fiscal year. Children's finished the year ending Sept. 30, 2015, with a $67 million operating surplus, down from a $113 million surplus the previous year, as labor and other costs grew.
Revenues at Children's, one of the state's most renowned but most expensive hospitals, rose to $2 billion from about $1.9 billion.
International patients are a lucrative business for local hospitals because they tend to be people with complex medical needs who require expensive care, and they include wealthy families who can afford to pay full price.
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Most of the growth in international patients at Children's came from Middle East countries, such as United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar — countries that often pay for their citizens to receive care at Children's and other American hospitals, said Doug Vanderslice, chief financial officer.
Patients came seeking treatment for heart problems, cancers, blood vessel abnormalities, and other serious medical problems, he said.
Children's said it also maintained its pool of local patients. Inpatient stays rose 1.8 percent last year, to 24,349 admissions. Outpatient clinic visits rose 1 percent to 587,157, Children's said.
Priyanka Dayal McCluskey can be reached at priyanka.mccluskey@
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