Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital officials said the institution will pay as much as $90 million in voluntary retirement offers to employees to avoid additional staff reductions, according to the Boston Business Journal.
The hospital initially offered voluntary retirement offers to 1,600 of its 18,000 employees in April. However, A Brigham and Women's spokesperson confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review the hospital reduced the number of offers to 1,200 employees. The spokesperson said Aug. 21 the 1,600 figure was adjusted to exclude physicians and grant-funded researchers, bringing the total number of voluntary retirement offers to 1,200.
Those eligible for the offers included employees over 60 years of age employed at the facility for more than two years. The offer was not made available to physicians or researchers.
Approximately 800 of the 1,200 individuals accepted the offer, a spokesperson told Becker's Aug. 21.
"Any further reduction in force will be limited and targeted to areas that have been identified through a workflow redesign process," the spokesperson continued. "The departures will begin Sept. 30 and will proceed based on the business needs of the organization, ensuring we have the appropriate level of staff to provide the best care to our patients."
Peter Markell, executive vice president of administration and finance, CFO and treasurer of Boston-based Partners HealthCare — which owns Brigham and Women's — told the Boston Business Journal Aug. 18 the offers will cost the hospital between $80 million and $90 million in total. The benefits associated with the voluntary retirement program will begin offering savings in fiscal year 2018, the report states.
Editor's note: This article was updated Aug. 21 to include additional information from Brigham and Women's.