Several hospitals are trimming their workforces due to financial and operational challenges, and some are offering affected workers new positions.
1. Columbus-based OhioHealth is eliminating 637 jobs, its biggest layoff ever. The move is part of a plan to contract out some services the system now provides in house. Over the next three to five months, the system will eliminate information technology and revenue cycle management positions. Of those, 567 are in information technology. OhioHealth said the IT work will be handled by the professional services company Accenture, and AGS Health will handle the revenue cycle business. The health system informed workers of the cuts July 7.
2. Santa Cruz Valley Hospital in Green Valley, Ariz., closed June 30. The closure resulted in 315 workers losing their jobs. CEO Steve Harris said the decision to close Santa Cruz Valley Regional Hospital was made after it was unable to secure emergency department staffing for the Fourth of July weekend. The hospital issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notice June 20, which gave the hospital's 315 workers notice of the mass layoff.
3. Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, N.Y., is cutting approximately 5 percent of its 800-person workforce as it makes changes aimed at improving revenue cycle functions. The hospital said in late June that it is planning to outsource revenue cycle functions and lay off revenue cycle staff.
4. Sturgis (Mich.) Hospital said it is planning to lay off 194 employees in July as it scales back services or closes. The hospital subsequently secured a loan to keep it open through July, according to WTVB.
5. Bristol (Conn.) Health on June 16 eliminated 31 positions, including 10 that were filled and 21 that were vacant. The majority of those laid off were in management.
6. Citing skyrocketing expenses and flat revenue, St. Charles Health System in Bend, Ore., will cut 181 positions, according to a May 18 announcement. The workforce reduction includes laying off 105 caregivers and eliminating 76 vacant positions. The layoffs affect mainly nonclinical workers, including many leadership positions. The four-hospital health system said it took steps to address its financial challenges, but it ended the month of April with a $21.8 million loss.
7. Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica's health plan, Paramount, is laying off about 200 employees in July after losing a Medicaid contract. Anthem acquired Paramount's Medicaid contract, and ProMedica and Anthem have been working to identify open roles for employees affected by the layoffs.
8. Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital announced in May that it will lay off 30 employees to help offset losses. The layoffs, which include an undisclosed number of physicians, affect less than 4 percent of the hospital's workforce. Many of the affected employees were notified May 17.
9. Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., part of Trinity Health of New England, is trimming jobs. The hospital laid off 12 of its 380 unionized nurses, the Massachusetts Nurses Association told Western Mass News in May. Translators and ancillary staff were also affected by the cuts. Trinity Health of New England, which declined to provide the number of workers affected by the layoffs, attributed the cuts to national disruption in the healthcare industry. In addition to the layoffs, Trinity Health of New England is also eliminating some positions that are currently vacant.