The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque will cut more than 500 positions, reports The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Here are five things to know.
1. The UNM Health Sciences Center, which oversees University of New Mexico Hospital and numerous other facilities statewide, attributes the job cuts to recent state budget cuts, as well as Medicaid and managed care organization contract cuts, among other things.
2. The UNM Health Sciences Center is not planning layoffs. Most of the jobs cuts affect planned staff expansions that weren't filled, the health system's chancellor, Paul Roth, MD, told state legislators, according to the report. Dr. Roth said the remaining job cuts can be handled through a regular attrition rate of about 8 percent to 10 percent annually.
3. Positions affected by the job cuts include 33 physicians, 174 nurses, 167 hospital staff and 132 academic staff in the medical school, as well as the nursing and pharmacy programs, and other research and education institutions, according to the report.
4. As a result of the job cuts, the UNM Health Sciences Center will have to divert more than 700 patients to other facilities, Dr. Roth told state lawmakers, according to the report.
5. Although the UNM Health Sciences faces a nearly $43 million loss of revenue in the current budget year, the organization is still moving forward with plans to build a new hospital to replace the 308-bed UNM Hospital, according to the report. Construction could begin by next summer.
More articles on leadership and management:
Op-ed: 2 leadership styles all good bosses must balance
How hospitals are transitioning to value-based care: Key thoughts to avoid a 'race to the bottom'
8 must-reads for healthcare leaders this week