Intermountain Healthcare, a 24-hospital health system based in Salt Lake City, is eliminating 250 business function positions to reduce costs and improve healthcare affordability, the health system announced Oct. 13.
The reductions will occur through voluntary separation and ongoing attrition and will not affect direct patient care positions.
Voluntary separation packages will be available for about 750 employees in Intermountain's centralized business functions, if they are at least 55 years old and have worked at the organization 10 or more consecutive years, the health system said in a news release. Eligible employees must decide whether to accept the voluntary separation packages in the next two weeks.
Intermountain announced in June that it will also only replace a position left vacant from an employee's voluntary departure if the position is deemed critical for patient care. As of Oct. 13, the health system had 50 open positions in centralized business functions that won't be filled.
Intermountain attributed these changes, as well as some internal reorganization to the Intermountain Medical Group, as steps "to help keep healthcare more affordable now and in the future," decrease overhead costs and improve efficiencies with administrative and business functions.
The health system said it will use involuntary reductions if voluntary separation and ongoing attrition do not eliminate the 250 business positions.
Intermountain has 41,000 employees who serve patients in Utah, southern Idaho and southern Nevada.