Berlin, 29.04.2022
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin closed the year 2021 with a slight surplus of around 7.8 million euros. For Charité, the past year was once again significantly shaped by the pandemic. Thanks to the support of the State of Berlin, it was possible to compensate for the coverage gap from the corona-related burdens. In addition, the total revenue of around 2.3 billion euros and the balanced annual result demonstrate the solid economic basis of Berlin University Medicine. The Supervisory Board of Charité approved the annual financial statements at its meeting today.
In the second year of the Corona pandemic, the employees of the Charité were also extremely challenged. Each wave of the pandemic has shown its particularities and brought new challenges. With more than 6,400 COVID 19 inpatients – more than 2,900 of them in the intensive care units – the Berlin University Medical Centre has taken a leading role in the care of severe COVID cases. With a great deal of commitment, the approximately 17,600 Charité employees succeeded in generating an annual result of around 7.8 million euros in 2021 despite the difficult general conditions. The positive result is also thanks to the renewed support of the State of Berlin, which fully compensated for the corona-related losses of Berlin University Medicine amounting to almost 62.6 million euros.
Ulrike Gote, Senator for Science, Health, Care and Equality and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Charité, explains: “The Corona pandemic has fundamentally changed the demands on a university medicine and placed enormous challenges and burdens on Charité in research, teaching and patient care. With the expertise and extraordinary commitment of its employees, the Charité has made a significant contribution to the pandemic response in 2021, both in Berlin and nationwide. The Corona pandemic has shown us all the enormous importance of an efficient and well-equipped university medicine.” She adds: “In order to mitigate the special financial burdens of the pandemic for the Charité, the state has provided funding of 62.6 million euros in 2021. Berlin as a science and health location is in an excellent position in national and international comparison, not least because of the Charité. It is the Senate’s aspiration to continue to ensure optimal framework conditions for excellent, internationally competitive and economically stable university medicine with political and financial support. As Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and on behalf of the Senate, I would like to extend my special thanks to all Charité employees who have achieved outstanding things in the past year.”
Right at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, Charité had adapted its processes in the clinic and faculty to the changed conditions in the healthcare system during a dynamic pandemic in order to remain capable of acting in one of the most severe health crises of recent decades.
Prof. Dr. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chairman of the Board of Charité, emphasises: “We thank the State of Berlin for its financial support. In addition, the good result also shows the economic stability of the Charité and, above all, of course, the high performance and motivation of all our employees.” He adds: “Two years of pandemic, that’s two years of impressive team spirit and ongoing extraordinary commitment. I am proud of our ‘Team Charité’ and would like to express my sincere thanks to all employees, because they have all really achieved great things.”
Despite the restrictions on normal clinical operations, 682,731 outpatient cases and 123,793 full and partial inpatient cases were treated in 2021 with 3,099 beds.
Astrid Lurati, Member of the Board for Finance and Infrastructure at Charité, explains: “The second year of the pandemic has continued to put Charité to the test in terms of patient care, research and teaching. In addition to providing the best possible care for the many COVID patients, we were committed to delivering our mission in a comprehensive and quality-oriented manner in every respect. Together, we mastered our new challenging daily routine very well, so that at the end of a financial year characterised by considerable uncertainties and risks, we succeeded in closing 2021 with a solid result. My sincere thanks go to all employees of all Group companies, who have all made a valuable contribution to this, but also to the State of Berlin, which has once again compensated us for the Corona-related losses. In the second exceptional year, a total of 2.3 billion euros were received by Charité in 2021. Charité’s net income for the year amounts to around 7.8 million euros and the consolidated result to around 10.9 million euros.”
An important milestone for improving working conditions in nursing and the health professions was also the agreement on the collective agreement “Health Professions Charité” to relieve hospital staff. The core of this agreement is a fixed minimum staffing level for all wards with beds and various functional areas, as well as the so-called CHEP points system, with which staff can claim compensation for special burdens.
In the reporting year, the Faculty of Medicine was able to achieve a new record with third-party funding income of around 215.8 million euros, which documents the excellence of research and makes a significant contribution to the scientific development of Berlin. The outstanding research strength of Berlin University Medicine is reflected, for example, at national level in its participation in 28 DFG special research areas and internationally in 23 EU projects. In addition, of the total of 5,857 publications in scientific journals, 549 articles dealt with research topics on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19.
Another groundbreaking strategic topic was the integration of the Berlin Institute of Health as the “Berlin Institute of Health in the Charité” (BIH) at the beginning of 2021. With the integration, the BIH forms the third pillar of the Charité as a “translational research area” – in addition to the University Hospital and the Medical Faculty. Prof. Dr. Christopher Baum, as Chairman of the BIH Board of Directors, has taken over the newly created Charité Board position for the translational research area with the integration. This also completes the process of further development of the now six-member Charité Board of Directors. There was also a change in the position of the Board Member for Health Care: Prof. Dr. Martin E. Kreis succeeded Prof. Dr. Ulrich Frei, who retired, in January.
The Strategy 2030 “We are rethinking health” was also further developed and concretised in dialogue with the employees. The strategy process is in the Charité tradition of translation as a unity of research, teaching and patient care for the benefit of the patient. Together with the employees, the developments of the coming years in the region and throughout Germany are to be shaped. Charité sees itself as a supporting pillar of the healthcare system and as part of an excellent scientific region.
In addition, the necessary contractual conditions for the German Heart Centre of the Charité (DHZC) were finalised at the end of last year: From 2023, Charité and the German Heart Institute Berlin (DHZB) will bundle their cardiac medical competences in it. The DHZC will be a leading international university heart centre. For this purpose, a state-of-the-art new building will be constructed on the Virchow-Klinikum campus from 2023.
In conclusion, Prof. Kroemer emphasises the connection between the present and the future: “We on the Board are convinced that tomorrow we will live from the things we plan and consider today. In this respect, it is indispensable to think about strategic development even in difficult times: the biggest issues for the future are demographic change, medical progress and digitalisation. Demography leads – in short – to fewer service providers and significantly more service recipients. In parallel, medical progress will place considerable demands on the system’s resources. Therefore, we need to digitise the health system in a sustainable and smart way.”
Key figures 2021
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, with around 100 clinics and institutes on 4 campuses and 3,099 beds. Research, teaching and patient care are closely interlinked. With an average of 17,615 employees across Charité and an average of 20,921 employees across the Group, Berlin University Medicine is also one of the largest employers in the capital in 2021. Of these, 5,047 were employed in nursing, 4,988 in the scientific and medical fields and 1,265 in administration. Last year, 123,793 full and partial inpatient cases and 682,731 outpatient cases were treated at the Charité. In 2021, Charité generated total revenues of around 2.3 billion euros, including third-party funding revenues and investment grants. With the 215.8 million euros in third-party funds raised, Charité achieved another record. At one of the largest medical faculties in Germany, more than 9,000 students are trained in human and dental medicine as well as health sciences and nursing. In addition, 730 training places are offered in 11 health professions and 111 in 8 other professions.
Annual Report 2021
Digital, sustainable and worth knowing: The Charité annual report “Insights 2021 | Insights 2021” provides an overview of the topics and developments in clinics and nursing, science and research as well as studies and teaching on 70 pages. The annual report in German and English is now published in the media library on the Charité website under “Publications”.