The reaper is out again this late winter day, as more hospitals are cutting jobs.
Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital announced 150 job cuts Wednesday, including the head of the hospital's cancer center. Departments affected by the layoffs include purchasing, nurse scheduling, and legal services.
Hospital officials blamed the cuts on the economic crisis and an increase in indigent patients. They claim that none of the positions cut will affect direct patient care. Cold comfort to those employees who were axed.
The Akron (Ohio) General Health System says it plans to cut 145 positions, blames lower government reimbursements and increased care costs. Another Ohio provider, The Sisters of Charity Health System in Cleveland, will give pink slips to 50 clinical and nonclinical staff members at Cleveland's St. Vincent Charity Hospital and 10 employees at St. John West Shore in Westlake, Ohio.
Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City, Iowa, is eliminating 59 jobs in an attempt to restructure its home healthcare service and hospice program. It also is closing a clinic in Rockwell, Iowa. The majority of the jobs to be eliminated are in hospice and home care. The news is somewhat better in this case, as officials say it's not a layoff, as employees in good standing will be offered new positions.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says hospital employment is doing better than other industries, but many hospital workers have good reason to be nervous as the economy continues to spiral downward.
Has your hospital laid-off workers recently, or are you expecting layoffs in the near future?