Jennifer Peryam, Times-Union Staff Writer
A slump in the economy has caused local hospitals and health care providers to either reduce its labor force or more closely monitor its expenses.
Kosciusko Community Hospital laid off 11 of its 850 employees last week, according to KCH CEO Steve Miller. He said the positions are spread across the hospital and will have no impact on the quality of care provided at the hospital.
The associates who were affected by the layoffs have already been notified.
"Decisions that affect employees are always difficult. We pressed hard to minimize the number of employees affected," Miller said.
He said keeping people at work and maintaining their benefits is important to the hospital.
Miller said, while the hospital does not foresee additional restructuring, as a normal part of daily hospital operations the hospital manages its staffing daily and will continue to manage staffing to its patient volumes.
KCH is caring for more uninsured and underinsured patients and are finding more people are deferring their healthcare, according to Miller.
Miller said like many hospitals operating in today's economic climate, KCH has recently evaluated its overall operations to ensure that it is working as responsibly, effectively and efficiently as possible.
As a result of the process, the hospital has identified a limited number of areas in the hospital that should be restructured and have made the decision to implement a small staffing change.
James O. Dague, president and CEO of Goshen Health System, said the hospital has not had to lay off employees and it doesn't intend to lay off employees.
Dague said Goshen Health System was rated No. 1 in the nation for overall job satisfaction and for patient care by HR Solutions International Inc. HR Solutions is recognized by the American Hospital Association for employee surveys and related surveys.
Other local health providers said although they have not had to lay off workers, they are watching their budgets closely.
Jeff Carroll, Grace Village Retirement Community CEO, said the retirement community is experiencing a slow up in independent living centers because of the current downturn in the economy.
He said some prospective residents are not able to sell their homes in order to move into independent living apartments.
Carroll said Grace Village Retirement Community has not had to lay off its employees.
Barbara Stobbe, Warsaw Meadows administrator, said it has not laid off employees, but are watching its employees' hours closely.
"We stay on top of payroll because it is our largest expense," Stobbe said.
Miller's Merry Manor facilities in Warsaw and Syracuse have not changed their operations.
"We are not recession proof, but our occupancy is good and we have not seen a change in our operations," said Al Grossnickle, Warsaw Miller's Merry Manor executive director.
Jason Hill, Syracuse Miller's Merry Manor administrator, said they have not had to lay off employees, but have watched its operations more closely.
"We make sure we meet our budgets with labor and material costs and don't spend money unless we have to," Hill said.