Valley Health, a six-hospital health system based in Winchester, Va., has eliminated 31 administrative positions, according to a statement shared with Becker's.
The job cuts are part of the consolidation of the organization's leadership team and administrative roles. They were announced internally on Feb. 28.
Since January, about 100 positions at Valley Health have been eliminated through consolidation, attrition and elimination, including the 31 individuals who were notified in February, according to the health system's statement.
All of the changes are designed to align services, staffing and overall costs with declining patient volumes and reimbursement rates, according to the health system.
"For months I have been transparent about the financial challenges Valley Health is facing," Mark Nantz, Valley Health president and CEO, said in the statement. "Nationally, there has been a shrinking of the healthcare workforce, combined with rapidly rising clinician pay, declining demand for healthcare services, and insurance reimbursement rates that have not kept pace with rising costs. Valley Health incurred nearly $100 million of losses since the beginning of the pandemic, much of which was offset by federal assistance that will not continue. It's time to face the reality that our expenses cannot exceed our revenue — that is not a sustainable model for any health system."
"Valley Health remains a financially strong and stable health system," Mr. Nantz added. "Our board and I are of the mind that acknowledging and addressing this changing environment now will help avoid more drastic cuts in the future."
Valley Health has about 6,000 employees.