Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health is offering voluntary retirement packages to qualifying, long-serving employees across the system, according to Dana Marnane, director of public relations, in a statement shared with Becker’s.
The system has offered voluntary retirement packages to eligible employees age 65 and older with at least 10 years of service, excluding certain exempted positions, according to a summary of the plan’s terms obtained by CT Insider. Some front-line patient care roles will not be eligible.
Ms. Marnane declined to specify how many employees would meet those requirements. However, she confirmed that the system, which operates five hospitals and Northeast Medical Group, has more than 31,000 employees total.
Service Employees International Union 1199NE, representing 235 employees of Yale New Haven Health, said 12 of its members would be eligible for the buyout, according to CT Insider.
Yale New Haven Health pointed to “significant financial and operational challenges” when discussing the initiative.
“As Connecticut’s largest provider of Medicaid services, we are particularly impacted by low reimbursement by government payers, which is increasingly outpaced by the growing cost of delivering care,” the system said. “Now, more than ever, Yale New Haven Health must function with greater agility, efficiency and excellence in order to respond to these changing dynamics, allowing us to remain the provider of choice in Connecticut and beyond.”
The system has taken various steps to address these challenges — and prepare for anticipated ones — including restructuring to consolidate leadership.
“Now, we are taking another step by offering voluntary retirement packages to a variety of employees across the system,” said Ms. Marnane. “We believe this step will help us evolve our team to meet changing patient demands in this challenging healthcare landscape.”
According to the summary obtained by CT Insider, those who accept the retirement packages — which includes continued salary for a number of weeks, healthcare benefit subsidies, and full payout of unused, accrued paid time off — would have a last day of work no later than Sept. 19.
