The Bassett Healthcare Network, a five-hospital system in Cooperstown, N.Y., has laid off 15 employees in leadership positions as part of a cost-cutting and restructuring plan.
The health system said it will implement a second round of layoffs in March, affecting 41 positions across the health system.
"This decision did not come easily and is one of the most difficult decisions that leaders have to face," said Bassett Healthcare Network President and CEO Tommy Ibrahim. "We balanced this decision against our moral and social obligation to continue serving the healthcare needs of our communities."
The hospital system is asking executives to take a 5 percent to 10 percent voluntary pay cut, and Mr. Ibrahim will continue the 20 percent salary reduction he took earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Employees affected by the layoffs will be enrolled in a program to find them new jobs within the health system.
As part of the systemwide transformation, the health system's five hospitals will be restructured into northern and southern regions, each overseen by a team of executives. The executive team for both regions will consist of a system executive, vice president of operations, vice president of medical affairs and a vice president of nursing.
The hospital network aims to reduce any duplicate roles.
"Rather than operating as a collection of individual hospitals and health centers, this new model will deconstruct the silos and reorganize our network into a truly integrated enterprise," Mr. Ibrahim said. "We are moving away from hospital-centric decision-making to a system focused on the continuum of care, expanded access to services and the best possible outcomes for our patients, no matter where that care is delivered."