Several hospitals are trimming their workforces due to financial and operational challenges, and some are offering affected workers new positions.
1. NYC Test & Trace Corps, the city's initiative for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, is ending universal contact tracing by the end of April. NYC Health + Hospitals, which leads the program in collaboration with the city's department of health and other agencies, is planning to lay off 874 workers when the program scales back, according to a notice filed with state regulators March 4. The health system said affected temporary employees will be laid off at the end of April. Managerial employees affected by the layoffs will have their employment terminated between May 13 and May 27, according to the notice.
2. MarinHealth Medical Center is laying off 104 revenue cycle and supply chain employees in April after entering into a contract with Optum to provide those services, according to a notice filed with state regulators in February. Greenbrae, Calif.-based MarinHealth said that as a result of the contract with Optum, all non-contractual revenue cycle and supply chain employees will be terminated from employment with the hospital on April 9. Optum is offering jobs to most workers affected by the layoffs. Employees who accept an offer will begin employment with Optum on the first work day following separation from MarinHealth, a spokesperson for the hospital told Becker's Hospital Review.
3. Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth is eliminating 95 vacant positions and laying off 30 employees as part of a restructuring aimed at addressing challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital is making changes that will make it more efficient and sustainable, a spokesperson told the Portsmouth Daily Times.
4. St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., is laying off 49 employees, including 21 registered nurses, when it stops providing mental health services in April, according to a notice filed with state regulators.
5. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health closed Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Pa., on Jan. 31. As a result of the closure, 534 employees were laid off Feb. 7, according to a notice filed with state regulators.
6. Galesburg (Ill.) Cottage Hospital closed Jan. 8 and its workers were told via email that their employment was terminated. Hospital CEO Sanjay Sharma, PhD, said the hospital shut down due to CMS' decision to terminate the facility's Medicare contract. Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare signed a letter of intent in February to buy the real estate, medical equipment and other assets of Galesburg Cottage Hospital. OSF said it expects the deal to close this spring, but it does not plan to offer inpatient care at the facility.
7. Pensacola, Fla.-based Baptist Health Care said in a notice filed with state regulators that it eliminated 233 jobs in February when it outsourced various services to Wayne, Pa.-based Compass One Healthcare. Affected employees were offered positions with Compass One at the same or higher wages, according to the layoff notice.
8. Community Hospital Long Beach (Calif.) shut down and surrendered its acute care license to the state in December, according to the Long Beach Post. The hospital laid off 328 employees early this year, according to a notice filed with state regulators. The hospital said the layoffs would begin Feb. 1 and may come in stages. The hospital's owner is planning to transition the facility into a behavioral health and wellness campus.
9. Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City laid off 56 workers in February, but affected employees were offered employment with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to a notice filed with the state. The layoffs are due to the integration of electronic medical records systems at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to the notice.
10. Pittsfield, Mass.-based Berkshire Health Systems filed a notice with state regulators indicating 94 employees were laid off in February as part of a structural reorganization between it and Berkshire Healthcare Systems. Affected employees were offered the opportunity to continue their current roles under an employment arrangement with a Berkshire Healthcare Systems entity, effective Feb. 1, a health system spokesperson informed Becker's Hospital Review.
11. Tower Health closed Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Pa., on Dec. 31. As a result of the closure, 293 employees were laid off, according to a notice filed with state regulators.