Sacred Heart plans staff realignment
About 185 Sacred Heart Medical Center employees are poised to accept early retirement and voluntary separation packages this week as part of a hospital plan to cut staff.
Together with a two-month hiring freeze, Sacred Heart will realign its workforce, then decide if it needs to make layoffs, hospital managers have said.
The changes are part of a broad hospital strategy to save money as costs climb and fewer patients are able to pay their bills.
Hospital executives have not disclosed a staffing level target, said Sacred Heart spokeswoman Maureen Goins.
“It’s complicated and these separations are just one piece of the puzzle,” she said, adding that the employees choosing to leave are minimizing what could turn into involuntary layoffs.
So far, 86 employees have filed for early retirement and 99 are seeking voluntary separation packages that include severance pay, Goins said.
Sacred Heart is adopting a set of guidelines recommended by Navigant Consulting, a firm that reviews hospital performance and suggests changes to better fit industry norms.
“It’s sad for employees, patients and Spokane,” said Bob Barker, spokesman for Local 1001 of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
The union represents many of the workers who have opted for early retirement or voluntary separation.
“We’re concerned because one of the things that made Sacred Heart such a good hospital was that it didn’t try to be like others,” he said. “I know we keep saying this, but it’s a race to be average.”
About 40 certified nursing assistant positions will be erased in the changes. Many are leaving voluntarily. Others may be fit into different jobs.
Goins said the hospital has a goal of not reducing the number of registered nurses.
The hospital could make further staffing announcements within the next couple of weeks, she said. “This has taken longer than anyone thought,” Goins said.”We know employees are wondering.”
Spokane’s hospitals continue to face financial problems. The loss of Spokane jobs offering health insurance has led to far more delinquent bills. Also, the hospitals say more charity cases are hitting their bottom lines, along with competition from clinics.
Similar problems have led to deep cuts in staff and payroll at Deaconess Medical Center, which earlier this year closed most pediatric services and its daycare.
Last year, Sacred Heart laid off 162 employees, including the jobs of about 90 licensed practical nurses.
The recent staffing moves amount to “taking actions before a major crisis hits,” Goins said. “Doing nothing isn’t really an option.”