Little Rock-based University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has cut 15 positions as it restructures to avoid layoffs and furloughs, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The organization, which includes a statewide health system, UAMS Health, has cut one of its two chief operating officer roles. Christina Clark was named COO and vice chancellor for institutional support services at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in January 2019. She will continue serving as COO of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and is also now COO of the hospital. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences previously had two COOs, one at the institutional level and the other in the hospital.
Restructuring at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences also has affected 14 other positions in finance, operations and information technology, Leslie Taylor, the organization's vice chancellor for communications and marketing, told the Democrat-Gazette.
Ms. Taylor described the changes as "positions eliminated as part of reorganizations in various business units," rather than layoffs.
She told Becker's Hospital Review via email that the organization wants to "avoid triple-digit furloughs and layoffs like those seen at many other Arkansas healthcare providers."
"UAMS has done everything in its power to avoid those types of actions that many other healthcare providers across the state have had to take," she said. "Rather than doing that, we have taken this time to look at our operations and reduce redundancies."
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences saw revenue decline by $31.3 million in March — the month the pandemic began — compared to the same month in 2019, according to the Democrat-Gazette, which cited documents submitted to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. The organization said it anticipates seeing pandemic effects on patient revenue through the first quarter of fiscal year 2021.