Memorial Health System announced today that it has laid off 143 members of its workforce across its 5 hospitals. Dr. Scott Boston, Passavant Area Hospital President & CEO, told WLDS News that 29 employees in total were permanently laid off at Passavant as a part of the job cuts.
A spokesperson for Memorial Health System declined to divulge the number of layoffs at each hospital to the State Journal Register.
The employees affected by the reductions were notified by telephone today. According to a press release by Memorial Health System, the human resources team at the hospital system was assisting with the severance of employment.
The 143 represents a 1.5% overall reduction in the hospital system workforce, according to the State Journal Register. Memorial Health System furloughed 460 workers, or 5% of its workforce in June. According to the State Journal Register, about half of the furloughed workers are expected to return on October 1st, while an undetermined amount already returned in early August when patient numbers began to increase due to easing of restrictions. According to the Memorial Health Systems release, the furloughs were meant to alleviate financial pressures caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
High expenses tied to the pandemic, low patient volumes, and canceled elective procedures and surgeries are being blamed for unprecedented revenue losses at hospitals across the country. According to various reports, U.S. hospitals are expected to lose between $323-330 billion in revenue this year.