HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, Mass., will move ahead with plans to lay off employees from clinical and administrative departments after talks with the Massachusetts Nurses Association did not lead to alternate options, according to a Boston Business Journal report.
The hospital, part of UMass Memorial Health Care System in Worcester, originally announced layoff plans in June. The cuts will amount to about 18 full-time positions, according to the report.
The MNA says the layoff plans will increase the nurse to patient ratio from one-to-five to one-to-six on the medical-surgical floor.
"We are absolutely outraged and appalled that the CEO and their management refused to heed the serious concerns that the nurses at the hospitals have about the dangers of these cuts and what it will mean for patients at the hospital," an MNA spokesman told the Journal.
Hospital officials maintain the cuts will help the hospital stay in the community. In June, they said the workforce reductions are due to decreased patient volumes.
The MNA plans to file a grievance against the hospital, according to the report.