Out of its 400 new hires, 200 of Louisville-based KentuckyOne Health's new employees are nurses. The health system, which said it hopes to fill roughly 1,000 positions across the state, has indicated the hiring of hundreds of new workers and the recent elimination of several executives in the last year has steered it down a path of recovery, according to Insider Louisville.
All together, the health system employs about 12,300.
The organization recently laid off three top executives. In addition, CNO Velinda Block, DNP, RN, resigned from the system, and her position will not be filled.
KentuckyOne has struggled financially almost since it was formed in 2012, and by 2014, the health system's losses stacked up to $300 million, according to IRS records cited by Insider Louisville.
In 2014, KentuckyOne eliminated 500 positions to cut costs. The next year, CEO Ruth Brinkley said the organization needed to improve its financial performance by more than $200 million by the year's end, and announced layoffs, according to the report.
This summer, a state investigation revealed staffing shortages at the University of Louisville Hospital were compromising patient safety, and called for the hospital to follow an improvement plan that included adding staff and changing training and clinical procedures.
Julie McGregor, vice president of employee engagement and retention, said although the organization is diligently controlling overhead costs, it has increased the number of employees who are providing care.
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