Citing financial challenges due to COVID-19, Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health said it will reduce compensation for executives and staff through furloughs, salary reductions, and schedule and shift adjustments, effective April 26.
Vidant said it will also cut employer contributions to retirement plans by 50 percent.
The salary reduction will be tiered based on the person's position, with the CEO taking a decrease of 25 percent. Decreases for other positions are 20 percent (chief and president), 15 percent (vice president), 10 percent (administrator), 7.5 percent (director), 5 percent (manager) and 2.5 percent (exempt/salaried team member).
Moving forward, Vidant said it will monitor the health system's operations and volumes and adjust staffing plans as needed.
"This is a financially challenging time for all health systems throughout the country. It's even more challenging for rural healthcare where there hasn't been enough effort made to address the unique realities we already face," Michael Waldrum, MD, CEO of Vidant, said in a news release. "We must take these necessary actions to ensure Vidant is able to continue to meet its mission now and into the future."
Vidant has more than 13,000 employees.