John Day, Ore.-based Blue Mountain Hospital District has laid off nine employees — including five mid-level leadership positions — citing several financial challenges, including looming Medicaid cuts.
CEO Misty Robertson said in a Sept. 16 news release that the layoffs, “became necessary in response to losses from operations, continued lower-than-expected utilization of services, increasing labor and supply costs, and to prepare for potential cuts to Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill which may result in lower operating revenues for the district.”
The layoffs also included four clinical staff members.
Ms. Robertson said that some departments are being combined under one leader and some leadership roles are being consolidated into one role, reducing the total number of leadership roles.
“Some additional cost reduction strategies are being deployed at the same time to focus on the rising costs of supplies and materials and to standardize some of our practices with the healthcare industry,” she said in the release.
The hospital does not anticipate additional workforce reductions or leadership restructuring at this time, she said.
“We will continue to find innovative ways to deliver the same exceptional level of care more efficiently, improve access to care, and service to our community,” Ms. Robertson said. “Healthcare may look a little bit different as we adapt to our changing times. For example, we may consider different models of care, the use of technology to assist us, identifying different opportunities to reduce the cost of care and deliver care more efficiently, and to leverage partnerships where it makes sense. We are also confident that these and other changes will allow us to move the organization forward during these challenging times.”
