Southern Illinois Healthcare, a four-hospital system based in Carbondale, is eliminating or restructuring 76 jobs in management and leadership, a decision President and CEO Rex Budde called "truly a last resort," The Southern Illinoisan reported Dec. 7.
The 76 positions fall under senior leadership, management and corporate services. Included in that figure are 33 vacant positions, which will not be filled. No positions in patient care are affected.
"Everyone involved in this decision understands the personal toll on those affected and the blow this has on the entire SIH family," Mr. Budde said. "People are the reason for our success. This decision was not made lightly; it was truly a last resort."
SIH is the region's largest private employer with 4,000 employees. At the start of its current fiscal year, the nonprofit system projected operational losses of $89 million; that loss is now forecast at $50 million, the report said.
"SIH faces a budget shortfall which exceeds our achievements, as well as unprecedented uncertainty in the overall healthcare environment," Mr. Budde said. "The workforce reduction will bring costs closer in line with revenue projections in order for us to continue our mission of providing care to all people in the communities we serve."