CLEVELAND — With a full year of COVID-19 spreading throughout the area, the Cleveland Clinic’s CEO said Wednesday it saw more patients in 2021 than in any prior year. 

The hospital system said it had 10.4 million outpatient visits – a 17% increase from 2020 – and more than 22,800 COVID-19 admissions in 2021. 

Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, the CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, addressed workers during his State of the Cleveland Clinic address marking the hospital’s 100th year. 

“As the centennial of Cleveland Clinic draws to a close, we continue to face the greatest health care crisis in generations,” Mihaljevic said. “Present conditions are pushing hospitals to the breaking point. We have never cared for so many critically ill patients with COVID-19. Most of them are not vaccinated. Their suffering could have been prevented, and that knowledge is hard on our teams, who are short-staffed and weary.”

The Cleveland Clinic said that although it increased pay for workers and that gratitude has been expended to its employees, the hospital system said that violence toward its caregivers has increased. 

“We are used to emergencies in this profession,” Mihaljevic said. “But we have never been asked to handle a crisis for two years, at work, and at home.”

The Cleveland Clinic, which is the state’s largest private employer, also reported its strongest economic outlook. The hospital system said its 2021 revenue reached $12.4 billion, with an operating income of $746 million. The Cleveland Clinic said it contributed $1.3 billion in community benefit, the most in its history.

It’s largest philanthropic project planned for 2022 is a joint program with the City of Cleveland to eliminate lead paint in all households in Cleveland by March 2023.