St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital (SLCH) announced today that it will reduce its workforce by approximately 60 positions, resulting in $3.2 million in savings.
“Our health care delivery system is undergoing unprecedented change similar to that impacting hospitals and providers throughout the country. We are seeing a significant decline in inpatient volume, and a reduction in reimbursement. Difficult decisions must be made to sustain quality care and services to our community” said Robert S. Ross, President. “We are faced with changing how and where we provide care with a focus on improving the health of our community.”
This year SLCH is projecting an operating loss of $10 million. “Those losses simply cannot be sustained if we are going to continue providing service to our community,” said Ross. “We must address this loss and are looking at all opportunities to further identify savings and efficiencies.”
SLCH has worked to limit the impact on employees by eliminating vacant positions through attrition, it is estimated that 30-35 people (none are bedside nurses) will actually be laid off, which represents three percent of the workforce.
