Back in Black: Tower Health returns to financial stability after years of losses

When Sue Perrotty took over as CEO of Tower Health in 2021 the Reading-based health system was hemorrhaging money. The health system, anchored by Reading Hospital, acquired five regional hospitals in 2017 with the goal of integrating and improving them and building a strong regional health system. But COVID-19 hit, and Tower was not only unable to continue its work to properly integrate the hospitals into one care system, but it was faced with the same devastating financial woes that plagued health systems around the country. In fiscal 2020 alone, the hospital lost $400 million dollars. But Perrotty, who was a board member when she took on the role of interim president and CEO, had come from a 27-year career in the banking and financing industry. If anyone could turn the health system around, it was her and over the past three years she has led a team to make the hospital financially sound. The effort has been working. In the final quarter of fiscal 2024, which ended June 30, the hospital had its first year of profitability in five years. But it wasn’t an easy journey, said Perrotty, the work to bring financial stability to the health network included...