Emory Healthcare, a nonprofit health system based in Atlanta, is cutting hours and furloughing up to 1,500 workers as it faces a revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The reduced hours and furloughs, scheduled to go into effect June 1 and continue through Aug. 31, will be spread across 11 hospitals and outpatient practices.
"While never more proud of our team's response, COVID-19 has had a significant negative impact on our normal revenue and operating expenses, which we must address to ensure a sustained financial recovery throughout our extensive healthcare system to continue our care and academic missions," Emory Healthcare President and CEO Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, told the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Based on projections through August, the health system is expecting a revenue shortfall of $660 million. The revenue loss, attributed to the cancellation and postponement of elective procedures and surgeries, exceeds the $142 million in COVID-19 relief aid the health system received from the provider relief fund created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, according to the report.
The health system is taking several other steps to mitigate financial losses, including cutting executive and senior management pay.
"We are entering a new phase in which we are making difficult decisions," Dr. Lewin told the Atlanta Business Chronicle. "We will continue to communicate openly with our Emory Healthcare team to ensure transparency as we move toward a new future of continuing to improve lives and provide hope."
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