Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

St. Joseph Health Services announced Friday that it is eliminating 36 positions and cutting pay for all of its non-union employees after losing about $3.4 million between October and December of last year.

St. Joseph has also requested that all of its union employees accept pay cuts too. The cuts are 10 percent for senior management, 5 percent for middle management and 3 percent for all other employees. The union has not yet responded.

"Health care is not immune to the recession," said hospital spokesman Otis Brown.

The layoffs and pay cuts would result in an estimated $3.7 million in savings during the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. St. Joseph Heath Services includes Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, in North Providence, and St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care in Providence.

St. Joseph, with a workforce of 1,900, is not alone in struggling to balance its budget, said Brown, who pointed to a report by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island that hospitals across the state had collectively posted operating losses totaling $21 million during the first quarter of this year.

Where hospitals are getting hit the hardest, said Brown, is a substantial drop in revenues in out-patient services.

"We are seeing patients postponing or avoiding elective procedures and non-emergency care," Brown said.

 Tags  health care layoffs Rhode Island

Comments

Elaine Roche said:

This is is perfect example of why universal health care is so important. Even if an induvidual has medical coverage it is even a finacial burden to pay the co-pay, which in many cases has risen substantily. Elaine Roche

Link | February 28, 2009 7:40 AM
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