Mass layoffs at hospitals hit new highs

[SarahB]

Cuts of 50 employees or more at hospitals are affecting more workers than at any time since Hurricane Katrina, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. And indications are that this pace will not abate soon.

While most of the layoffs have come from administrative and trades staff, in some places -- particularly publicly run hospitals or systems that serve relatively large Medicaid and uninsured populations -- clinical staff is also starting to be thinned.

In Miami, the Service Employees International Union has filed a quality-of-care lawsuit against the publicly owned Jackson Health System. Recent layoffs included physicians and nurses among the 613 positions cut, 400 in early May.

"It's really not about the governance structure. It's more a matter of the particular economic circumstances of the community and how that affects the finances of the hospital," said Bruce Rueben, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Assn.

In April, 1,967 hospital employees were affected by mass layoffs, according to the BLS. That would be a record-high total but for the 8,687 employees cut in September 2005, mostly due to hospital shutdowns in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Hospitals had 18 mass layoffs in April 2010, the most since 21 in July 2009.

There were 18 mass layoff events in April, the most since the 21 in July 2009. (September 2005 had 30.) Through the first four months of 2010, the number of hospital mass layoffs were on pace to eke past 2009's record of 152, and smash 2005's record of 13,282 affected employees.

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/06/14/bisb0614.htm

Let's see if this gets as much attention as the thread about the phony-baloney Federal Reserve statement.

[prolesunited]

1. I'm sure this won't have a negative effect on patient care.

:eyes:

[samplegirl]

2. Our hospital here is being taken over

by Ardent a Tennessee based company. Bye bye Union!!!

[philly_bob]

3. A public option would have reduced needed clerical staff.

I despair. Laying off clinical nursing staff and school teachers. During high unemployment.

[napi21]

4. I think to hear the truth about these layoffs we need more info.

A very close friend of mine is a VP at the largest health care system in Pgh, Pa. Several month ago one of our conversations turned to hospitals closings. When I moved from Pgh. in 1987, every hospital had a natal maternity unit & was delivering babies etc & there was a large woman's hospital (McGee). McGee is closed, and only ONE hospital in Pgh. delivers babies. I was shocked and I asked why. She explained that there simply has been a drastic reduction in births & they couldn't justify maintaining maternity units in every hospital. I questioned if th only remaining hosp. that still did deliveries wasn't overwhelmed with too many deliveries, and she said the average # was 14 per week! Also patients admitted for other reasons simply don't stay in the hospital very long. All of these changes have forced hospitals to consolidate and close some. Th same has happened to schools across the country!

The report of all these layoffs & terminations sounds terrible on the surface, ut I'd be interested to find out WHY they occurred.

My husband was hospitalized for 2 days recently & I was sent for an emergency MRI oly 3 weeks ago, and there was absolutly no shortage of personnel in either the hosp. or the MRI Center. My wait was so short, I had to finish the sign-in paperwork in the room whre they performed the MRI.

[Dappleganger]

5. One can't help but wonder if the reduced number of in-patient care days is due to HMO requirements.