Public Hospitals in Quake-Hit Okunoto Area Bleed Red Ink

From Jiji

July 9 2024

Kanazawa, Ishikawa Pref – Four public hospitals in the earthquake-hit Okunoto area in central Japan ran a combined loss of over 1.2 billion yen in fiscal 2023, it was learned Tuesday. 
   The Okunoto area, which is the northern point of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, was hit especially hard by the 7.6-magnitude quake that shook the peninsula Jan. 1.
   With the hospitals expected to continue bleeding red ink due to local depopulation spurred by the disaster, the prefecture faces an urgent task of maintaining community health care services amid postdisaster reconstruction efforts.
   According to the Ishikawa prefectural government, Suzu General Hospital, run by the city government of Suzu, logged a deficit of some 570 million yen, Wajima Municipal Hospital, operated by the city government of Wajima, marked a loss of around 230 million yen, Ushitsu General Hospital in the town of Noto suffered a loss of around 320 million yen and Anamizu General Hospital in the town of Anamizu registered a deficit of some 110 million yen in the year that ended in March.
   In fiscal 2022, Ushitsu General Hospital suffered a loss of some 3 million yen, but the other three hospitals all registered surpluses for the year.