The coronavirus pandemic has caused Albury Wodonga Health to slide to a $3.6 million deficit for the 2019-20 financial year, after posting a profit just 12 months earlier.
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The organisation's annual report was made public after being tabled in Victorian Parliament this week.
Figures showed an increased in total expenses from $313.16 million in the 2018-19 financial year, up to $343.22 million in 2019-20.
This included an increase the number average full-time equivalent of nursing staff from 828 up to 846.
In their joint statement, AWH board chair Matthew Burke and chief executive Michael Kalimnios said the staff should be commended for their tireless work after the bushfires and dynamic response to COVID-19.
"It has been extraordinary to see the resilience and flexibility of our staff as they have coped with major adaptations in their work life - including changed services, additional personal protective equipment requirements and border closures - while keeping their patients, colleagues, families and themselves safe," they said.
"We have seen a positive, innovative and proactive workforce emerge from this pandemic.
"We must also credit the resolve shown by our community, which has also had to adapt to the additional challenges faced by a cross border community."
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The annual report also revealed the number of occupational violence incidents reported at AWH nearly doubled during the pandemic, reaching 460 in 2019-20.
Victorian Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier said this was a concerning number and worried the state government did not have a plan to protect frontline healthcare workers.
"No Victorian should have to go to work in fear of being abused," she said.
Northeast Health Wangaratta also experience a financial downturn during the coronavirus pandemic, but still maintained a $873,000 surplus in 2019-20 - down from the previous year's surplus of $1.29 million.
Its number of occupational violence incidents dropped slightly from 185 to 176.
NHW board chair Jonathan Green and chief executive Tim Griffiths said the challenging year "brought out the very best in all of us, with displays of kindness and care at every turn".
"COVID-19 has fundamentally altered how NHW has had to care for the communities it serves and this is likely to be our new normal for the foreseeable future," they said.
Wangaratta hospital treated 9.1 per cent fewer patients through its emergency department during 2019-20, which included the COVID-19 screening clinic testing, but admitted 6.3 per cent fewer - a decrease also attributed to the pandemic.
