California's 393 general acute care (GAC) hospitals saw 46 million outpatients and discharged 3.5 million inpatients in 2010, when the number of beds available had declined to the lowest level in a decade. This report examines the state's GAC hospital facilities, including their bed supply and capacity, use of services, financial health, and selected quality measures.

See the complete report in the interactive viewing pane below or download the PDF at the bottom of the page.

Key findings include:

• The number of skilled nursing beds in hospitals fell by one-third between 2001 and 2010. Emergency department beds increased steadily during the same period.
• Staffing per bed in California rose 14% between 2001 and 2010, due in part to an increase in registered nurses per bed. 
• A larger proportion of hospitals were profitable in 2010 compared to 2001 as reflected by both total and operating margins.
• Salaries, wages, and benefits accounted for half of hospital operating expenses in 2010, having increased over 100% since 2001. 
• Uncompensated care as measured by charity care and bad debt rose by 50% between 2001 and 2010 to $2.4 billion. 
• California consistently performed slightly below the US average on eight patient satisfaction measures.

The complete report and a quick reference guide, along with a past edition of the report, are available as Document Downloads. The report was updated March 5, 2013, with changes to pages 2 and 37.