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San Antonio Regional Hospital warns of financial pressure, outlines plans for local residency program and expanded services
Summary
Hospital CEO John Chapman told the Upland City Council that federal and state payer increases lag inflation and rising drug and labor costs, and announced an ACGME‑approved residency program, planned maternity expansion and senior care initiatives aimed at increasing local capacity.
John Chapman, president and CEO of San Antonio Regional Hospital, told the Upland City Council on Aug. 11 that the hospital is operating under sustained financial pressure from limited payer increases and rising costs but is investing in local capacity to address gaps in primary care, behavioral health and maternal services.
Chapman said federal and state payer rates — Medicare and Medi‑Cal — have produced, at best, a 5.2% increase over three years, “which is less than 2% in additional revenue per year,” while inflation in 2024–25 is substantially higher. He said drug costs have risen in “double digits” (he cited about 15% last year) and that labor costs have increased as well, noting that the hospital has been paying nurses roughly 7% per year over the last three years.
Why it matters: Chapman said those revenue and cost trends have forced some hospitals to reduce services or close, and they drive a shortage of training opportunities and workforce entrants. He said those staffing and access pressures show up locally as crowded emergency departments and difficulty getting timely primary‑care visits.
Chapman also described several local investments intended to expand care in the Inland Empire: San Antonio Hospital was recently approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to establish an internal medicine and family medicine residency program. “We were just approved, by ACGME to be an internal medicine and family medicine residency program at San Antonio Hospital,” Chapman said; the program will train 60 residents at a time (20 per year in a three‑year cycle) with the goal of keeping graduates in the local community.
He said the hospital expects to expand its Care4U primary‑care clinics — “there’s already 4 Care4U clinics in our region” and the hospital expects 15–16 clinics within the next 18–24 months — and to integrate behavioral‑health providers into primary‑care practices for warm handoffs to psychologists and licensed social workers.
Chapman announced plans for a new, larger maternity unit that the hospital expects will be built out in roughly 2½ years. He said the county has provided $180,000 to expand a clinical shadowing program that places high school students in operating rooms and other clinical settings, and he described a new “center of aging” opening in a neighboring city this December that will consolidate multiple specialties and offer free rides inside a roughly 20‑square‑mile radius for seniors.
Council members asked questions about labor‑wage legislation and alternatives for workforce recruitment; Chapman said the hospital has spread mandated wage increases over several years and that the changes are not an immediate financial shock to their operation. Chapman framed the hospital’s strategy as “higher volume, lower margins” and said it is prioritizing investments intended to grow capacity and retain staff.
Ending: Chapman closed by thanking the council and residents for community support and said hospital leadership will return with another update in a few months.
