UMass Memorial Cutting 140 Jobs
UMass Memorial Health Care will cut about 140 jobs in a second effort to close a $50-million budget gap in its current fiscal year, the Worcester-based health care system announced to its workforce Tuesday.
CEO John O'Brien said the cuts, many of which he said have already been made, will come from areas outside of direct care, namely financial, information services, marketing and human resource functions. He also said the cuts will come in service lines where the organization is not meeting expected service volume projections and doesn't expect to do so. O'Brien also said UMass is looking to consolidate some units, reduce the number of beds and consolidate management roles in its in-patient units.
He particularly cited financial challenges at UMass Medical Center.
"Without a continued, aggressive focus on providing more affordable care" at the center, he said in the statement, "our operating margin will be threatened for the foreseeable future."
Last January, UMass announced it would eliminate 150 full-time jobs, but also warned that action would not be enough to reduce expenses by $50 million, which UMass said was needed to avoid ending the fiscal year with a loss. The fiscal year will close Sunday.
"While we have made substantial progress" toward cutting $50 million, "more is necessary," O'Brien said this week.
In addition, O'Brien said the system is taking the following steps: Continued cutting back on hiring for corporate departments, the medical center and UMass Memorial Medical Group, a multispecialty group practice of more than 2,000 physicians and non-physician staff members. However, O'Brien said no jobs affecting patient care and safety would be cut.
Reducing lease expenses and better consolidating services in spaces that best serve patients and staff.
O'Brien said other potential cost-cutting measures are being reviewed and expected to be implemented during the new fiscal year that begins Monday.
In June, UMass Memorial agreed to sell its home-based health care services arm to VNA Care Network & Hospice. That sale was completed last week, O'Brien said. He added that the organization is "making progress" toward the sale of its hospital labs outreach business.
UMass Memorial Health Care is the largest employer in Central Massachusetts, with a staff of more than 13,000. The system includes the three-campus UMass Medical Center in Worcester, as well as Clinton, Health Alliance and Marlborough hospitals in Central Massachusetts, plus Wing Memorial Hospital in Palmer.
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