Marquette General Financial Turnaround

Times are tough for businesses of all kinds, and hospitals are certainly no exception.

But Marquette General says it’s turning the corner in fighting years of red ink.

MGHS has gone from a $10 million loss last year in operating income to a $10 million gain this year.

The health system’s chief financial officer shared that with its finance authority today.

Part of that’s being attributed to the early retirement plan.

A year and a half ago, Marquette General made buyout offers to all its employees 55 or older who’d been with them 10 years or more.

Hospital officials also say they seem to be somewhat shielded from the effects of the recession.

They point to the fact that they’ve been able to keep filling job openings as they come up instead of going into a hiring freeze or laying people off.