Jobs at Illinois hospitals remained relatively steady during the recession, but a slew of job cuts in the past year suggests a significant workforce reduction may hit hospitals across the country as well, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
In Illinois, the largest job cuts have occurred at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (230 jobs), Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights (188 jobs) and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove (170 jobs through layoffs and attrition).
Experts suggested the job security once associated with hospital employment is dissolving. One healthcare consultant said the cuts hospitals are making now are likely to be the first of what will be a massive workforce reduction by hospitals across the country, according to the report.
Jan Rodolfo, the Midwest director for National Nurses United, said even profitable hospitals are behaving like cash-strapped hospitals and pursuing aggressive cost-cutting measures, according to the report.
With declined patient volume and reimbursement, hospitals are aiming to trim their operating budgets by 20 to 40 percent within the next five years. Since labor costs are the largest item in hospitals' cost structures, layoffs seem inevitable, according to the report.
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In Illinois, the largest job cuts have occurred at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (230 jobs), Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights (188 jobs) and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove (170 jobs through layoffs and attrition).
Experts suggested the job security once associated with hospital employment is dissolving. One healthcare consultant said the cuts hospitals are making now are likely to be the first of what will be a massive workforce reduction by hospitals across the country, according to the report.
Jan Rodolfo, the Midwest director for National Nurses United, said even profitable hospitals are behaving like cash-strapped hospitals and pursuing aggressive cost-cutting measures, according to the report.
With declined patient volume and reimbursement, hospitals are aiming to trim their operating budgets by 20 to 40 percent within the next five years. Since labor costs are the largest item in hospitals' cost structures, layoffs seem inevitable, according to the report.
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