CLEARFIELD – Clearfield Hospital has announced a workforce reduction of 25 positions in response to the current economic climate.
The reduction affects clinical, support and management positions. It includes not filling certain vacant positions, eliminating positions and reduction in hours for some part- and full-time positions.
The workforce reduction will not compromise the quality or safety of patient care.
“The decision to reduce the hospital’s workforce was not an easy one. But in the end, we have to preserve the financial integrity of the hospital in order to support our mission and obligations to the community,” stated Gary Macioce, hospital president.
He said the hospital is under a great deal of financial pressure, and has been for some time.
“We have consistently experienced a loss in revenue for the past several months as our inpatient and outpatient volumes have decreased. We are not alone in this plight; most hospitals around the state and nation are experiencing this trend,” he said.
According to the hospital’s press announcement, changes to Medicare and Medicaid, the government’s health insurance programs for seniors and the poor, are further eroding revenues at most hospitals, and these changes are hitting Clearfield Hospital particularly hard because those two insurers make up 64 percent of its annual revenue.
In addition, the hospital’s uncompensated care expense (which includes patients unable to pay for medical care that was provided to them) has increased substantially. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, the hospital reported uncompensated care in the amount of $5.8 million. The amount reported so far for the first six months of the current fiscal year (July 1, 2012 – Dec. 31, 2012) is approximately $3 million.
“Over the past several years, Clearfield Hospital leadership and staff have worked diligently to control expenses, but, like many families in the community are experiencing first-hand, prices are continuing to rise while incomes are not. The economic recession has forced most of us to make difficult choices personally and professionally, often sacrificing our wants in order to meet our needs. We are sorry the employees affected by this reduction will no longer be with us, and appreciate their important contributions to the hospital and its patients during their employment,” Macioce said.
