Citing the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health said it plans to furlough both clinical and administrative workers, according to Greenville News.
Prisma Health said its elective cases has decreased by 77 percent and physician office visits have dropped 40 percent in the last two weeks. The drops have contributed to a dip in revenue, according to the report.
That decrease in revenue is coupled with price increases for personal protective equipment and other supplies, Prisma Health's CEO Mark O'Halla, wrote in an email to staff obtained by the News.
"These events, coupled with the losses in the financial markets that have occurred over the last few weeks, have dramatically affected our income needed to operate the organization," Mr. O'Halla wrote.
The health system declined the News' request to comment about the number of employees affected or how long the furlough will last.
Employees in administrative, corporate and clinical roles will be affected.
Mr. O'Halla said in the email the decisions were "painful, especially for those team members who have been furloughed."
He added that affected employees can apply for open positions within the organization and for unemployment benefits.