UAMS axes pay raises for 3,300 as shortfalls take a toll on hospital

More than 3,000 employees at the UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock will go without raises this fiscal year as officials trim expenses because of budget shortfalls after the January opening of the new 10-story hospital.

The decision comes after the hospital’s first-quarter expenses outpaced revenue by about $2 million, said Dr. Daniel Rahn, chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who took over the position from Dr. I. Dodd Wilson on Nov. 1.

“This is not an issue of declines. It’s an issue of continued growth, but the growth not quite matching what was projected in the original budget,” Rahn said Tuesday.

UAMS hasn’t laid off anyone because of the shortfalls, but it ...