Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently cut more than 300 members from its staff, and further budget and staff cuts are on their way at VUMC, according to the Nashville Post.
VUMC officials have set a goal of saving $100 million in its new fiscal year, and an additional $150 million in the following fiscal year, according to the report. The budget cuts are due to changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, among other revenue changes, according to a letter to employees from Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
These cost savings will be achieved through cutting costs in areas like supplies, facilities and contract improvements, and also through labor cuts like offering early retirement, leaving vacant positions empty, implementing a hiring freeze and instituting layoffs, according to the letter.
"At VUMC we have been operating with an employee base that is above the national average for university medical centers, even when adjusted for the acuity of our patients and the size and scope of our activities," Dr. Balser wrote. "Hence, there is no question that over the coming year we will need to reduce the number of employees at VUMC."
More Articles on Hospital Layoffs:
Danbury, New Milford Hospitals Cut 116 Jobs
Excela Health to Lay Off 78
9 Recent Hospital and Health System Layoffs