Spokane, Wash.-based Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center's regional director said the hospital won't cut staff due to its projected $35 million budget deficit in which its troubled Cerner EHR system plays a large role, The Spokesman-Review reported June 8.
In a June 1 message to staff that was obtained by the publication, Network Director Teresa Boyd said Mann-Grandstaff would not cut staff or reduce services.
A VA spokesperson also told the publication that "Mann-Grandstaff has not been asked to reduce its staffing levels but instead to build a strategic plan for staffing and services that best meets the needs of veterans in their market."
This comes after Mann-Grandstaff Director Robert Fischer, MD, said in a May 9 email to supervisors that the hospital needed to reduce staffing levels by more than 15 percent, resulting in eliminating 146 full-time roles mostly by not filling vacant positions, due to the budget deficit.
The hospital has spent $38 million over budget, and a lot of that is being attributed to its new Cerner EHR system and its reliance on private sector clinicians for key specialties.
Dr. Fischer said the Cerner EHR system has "reduced the number of veterans each clinician can see," which results in a lower allocation of funds to the hospital.
Currently, Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center is one of five VA medical centers to go live with the Cerner EHR system. Rollouts at additional facilities are on hold until Mann-Grandstaff and the other facilities currently using the EHR can get their systems performing at a highly functional level.