Cleveland-based University Hospitals announced Oct. 12 that it is cutting 443 administrative jobs, the latest in a series of cuts from hospitals across Ohio that have eliminated more than 2,000 positions in recent months.
The following four hospitals and health systems have announced cuts since July:
July 5: Toledo-based ProMedica announces it is laying off an unspecified number of nonclinical employees, the Toledo Blade reports. A ProMedica spokesperson told Becker's the layoffs represent less than 1 percent of the health system's 44,000-person nationwide workforce and are "primarily related to pilots and processes outside of our core business as well as certain corporate services."
The layoffs come after ProMedica ousted its CFO and several other senior leaders in May. It hired an interim CFO from Texas with experience in healthcare restructuring and crisis management.
July 7: Columbus-based OhioHealth informs workers that it is eliminating 637 jobs, its biggest layoff move ever. The move is part of a plan to contract out some services the system now provides in house. Of the positions being cut, 567 are in information technology and 58 are revenue cycle staff. OhioHealth said the IT work will be handled by the professional services company Accenture, and AGS Health will handle the revenue cycle business.
Sept. 14: Cleveland-based St. Vincent Charity Medical Center files a notice with state regulators stating it will lay off 978 workers when it ends many services later this year. The hospital, part of Sisters of Charity Health System, is ending inpatient care and most other services in November. After the transition, the facility will offer outpatient behavioral health, urgent care and primary care.
The health system attributed the changes to several factors, including the rise in demand for outpatient care, declining inpatient volume and shifts in the healthcare industry over the last 10 years that have made it challenging to continue operating St. Vincent Charity Medical Center as an acute care hospital.
Oct. 12: University Hospitals announces efforts to reduce system expenses by $100 million, including the elimination of 326 vacant jobs and layoffs affecting 117 administrative employees. The workforce reduction comes as the 21-hospital system faces a net operating loss of $184.6 million from the first eight months of 2022.
The cost reduction initiative follows service reductions at two UH hospitals — UH Bedford (Ohio) Medical Center and UH Richmond Medical Center in Richmond Heights, Ohio. In July, the health system cited staffing shortages as the primary reason for the end of inpatient, surgical and emergency services at UH Bedford and UH Richmond, effective Aug. 12. The services were rerouted to area UH hospitals.