Bozeman (Mont.) Health will eliminate 28 leadership and leadership support jobs, as well as 25 open positions, KBZK reported Aug. 2.
The health system said COVID-19 impacts, financial uncertainty and ongoing labor shortages all led to a reduction in staff.
"In order to sustain the mission of our health system and to ensure the health and wellbeing of the ever-evolving needs of our community, a difficult decision was made to eliminate … a total of 53 [full time employee] positions," CEO John Hill said in a statement to the news outlet. "This was, unfortunately, necessary to ensure we can sustainably deliver care in the future. We care deeply for our colleagues who have been impacted and we're doing everything we possibly can to help them and their families during this transitional phase."
In the last year, the health system's costs have exceeded its revenue by 8 percent, resulting in a loss of $14.8 million in the first six months of 2022.
"Prior to the decision to reduce staff, we implemented cuts to executive compensation, reduced contract labor, paused on certain provider bonuses and all leadership performance bonuses, stopped all travel and discretionary spending, initiated a hiring freeze for non-essential leadership positions, and put a hold on consulting agreements, to name a few," Mr. Hill wrote in a letter to employees, which was shared with KZBK.
Bozeman Health hopes the position cuts will allow the health system to invest in other areas such as patient experience, infrastructure, technology and potentially new jobs in the future.