Banner Health combats growing spike of COVID-19 cases in Arizona after stay-at-home order lifted

Posted on June 8, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Deferred Healthcare, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Health System, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Intensive Care (ICU), Mortality, Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Public Health, Public Safety, Quarantine, Social Distancing, Supply Chain • Leave a comment

https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals/banner-health-combats-growing-spike-covid-19-cases-arizona-after-stay-at-home-order?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRnNU16RmxOemM1WXpWaSIsInQiOiJ0TFFnRkR2OUVoQjY5SXArbjU0ZXVmcjJaMFdNWXZ6cXBHOGQxVzZ1dkxhMHJVK0t3dmRtcUVicFIrVDdlMUJPY3doWlQzeVN0VVZxakdnUFBHY2w2a0VVQ0s2WFI1anhqR2xvSFBtMDZZcVlaYVwvK2xlRWdcL01uQmFRVTA0VGtMIn0%3D&mrkid=959610

Banner Health warned of a major spike of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks in Arizona as the state opened back up and eased social distancing guidelines.

Arizona’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are rapidly increasing and raising potential capacity concerns, the system said.

“As of June 4, there were 1,234 hospitalized COVID-19 patients,” the system said in a statement. “About 50% of those patients are hospitalized in Banner Health facilities.”

Banner officials said its ICUs have gotten very busy, and the system has been transferring patients and resources to avoid putting stress on one particular hospital. Banner Health operates 28 hospitals across six states, including several hospitals in Arizona. The health system’s update comes as other hospital systems are eyeing a potential resurgence of COVID-19 cases as states reopen their economies after months of stay-at-home orders.

“If these trends continue, Banner will soon need to exercise surge planning and flex up to 125% bed capacity,” the system warned.

The number of Banner Health patients in Arizona on a ventilator has also increased over the past few weeks, from 41 on May 22 to nearly 120 on June 3.

The system also attributed the increase in COVID-19 cases to a relaxation of the state’s stay-at-home order, which expired May 15.

The cases started to spike two weeks after the end of the order, which is the likely incubation period for the virus.

Banner emphasized that the public needs to continue certain behaviors like wearing a mask in public and social distancing in order to ensure capacity isn’t overwhelmed.

Hospitals not only have to worry about the prospects of a second surge of the virus in the fall but also a wave of pent-up demand for healthcare services put off due to the pandemic.

Banner Health, like all health systems, canceled or postponed elective procedures at the onset of the pandemic back in March. But health systems are taking small steps to resume elective procedures.

Banner Health has also taken steps to preserve its personal protective equipment (PPE), which has been in short supply across the healthcare industry throughout the pandemic. Banner was one of 15 healthcare systems to buy a minority stake in PPE domestic manufacturer Prestige Ameritech in the hopes of shoring up a supply chain that is traditionally reliant on overseas manufacturers.

HCA nurses say they face layoffs if they don’t give up negotiated pay increases

Posted on June 6, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 401K, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Employee Benefits, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employee Wage Freeze, Employment Agreement, Employment Contract, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Labor Relations, Labor Union, Medicare Advance Payments, Nurses, Nurses Union, Quality, Quality of Care, The CARES Act • Leave a comment

HCA nurses say they face layoffs if they don’t give up negotiated pay increases

HCA nurses say they face layoffs if they don't give up negotiated ...

Nurses at 15 HCA hospitals represented by National Nurses United protested last week, saying the for-profit hospital chain threatened layoffs. Nurses took to the sidewalks outside of their hospitals with signs, after they said they were told to expect cuts to benefits and staff if they didn’t give up negotiated wage increases.

In an emailed statement, HCA said it had no plans for layoffs.

A letter obtained by MedCity News threatened the possibility of reductions if the nurses did not accept HCA’s proposal.

The letter stated:

“The facts are that non-represented colleagues across the HCA Healthcare enterprise are taking pay reductions and non-represented colleagues are giving up wage increases this year. HCA Healthcare has made these tough decisions in order to preserve jobs. To be equitable to all of our colleagues across the enterprise, we recently reached out to unions, with the hope that during this time of crisis, they would support the same measures for our unionized employees to minimize the impact on your compensation and employment status. … If the (National Nurses Organizing Committee) and/or (Service Employees International Union) reject our proposal, colleagues represented by these unions will no longer be eligible for continued pandemic pay, may be subject to layoffs and may face other benefit changes.”

Nurses interviewed by MedCity News said they were asked to give up other benefits.

Zoe Schmidt, a registered nurse who works at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, said they were also asked to forego their 401(k) matching for the year and shift differential pay, or increased compensation for nurses that work night and weekend shifts.

“We’ve been fighting back against that. At my hospital, it does seem like they’ve backed down on wage freezes and 401(k) matching (changes),” she said.

Though Schmidt hasn’t seen any evidence of impending layoffs, she said she was worried about staffing changes that could push the number of patients past four or five per nurse for the medical surgical unit where she works.

“We’re not overstaffed by any means,” she said.

Juan Anchondo, who has worked as an RN for 16 years at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, said nurses were told to expect 10% layoffs.

“The way they word it, it sounds like layoffs are imminent,” he said. “They wouldn’t be specific to which departments or which hospital.”

In the last two weeks, as the hospital started to reopen, he said his medical-surgical unit quickly expanded from 20 beds to 26 beds.

“We were barely keeping up with what we could with 20 beds available,” he said. “All of a sudden, when we had four nurses scheduled on the floor, all of a sudden four nurses, is that enough to cover 26 beds?”

Like other hospital systems, HCA has seen reduced volumes during the Covid-19 pandemic, with canceled elective procedures and patients nervous to come into the hospital.

The health system’s revenue was up during the first quarter to $12.86 billion, but its profits were down nearly 45% from the same period in 2019, for a total of $581 million.

For employees affected by low patient volumes, HCA said it had been offering them pandemic pay, giving them 70% of their base pay for hours not worked.

To offset its losses, the company cut salaries for 11,000 of its corporate staff, suspended stock buybacks and its dividend, and delayed certain capital projects.

During the company’s first quarter earnings call, CFO Bill Rutherford said the company had received $700 million in CARES Act payments, as well as roughly $4 billion in accelerated Medicare payments and $75 million per month in deferred social security payroll taxes.

In an emailed statement, HCA said the negotiations with unions had solely been about their wage increases and the health system’s pandemic pay program.

“At a time when hundreds of hospitals across the country are laying off and furloughing employees, HCA Healthcare has not laid off or furloughed a single caregiver due to the pandemic and we hope to avoid doing so in the future,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Throughout the pandemic, our goal has been to protect our colleagues’ jobs and to continue the pandemic pay program for all, including those represented by labor unions. But the unions’ rigid position on wage increases means we will likely have to make other adjustments that will affect the colleagues they represent.”

National Nurses United represents 10,000 HCA nurses across six states.

Hospitals Emptied Out by Pandemic Push for Patients to Return

Posted on June 6, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Co-Morbidities, Consumerism, Coronavirus, Deferred Healthcare, Distrust, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Emergency Care, Fear, Health Policy, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Mortality, Pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Public Health, Public Safety, Quarantine, Social Distancing • Leave a comment

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-04/dear-patient-we-want-you-back-for-that-knee-replacement

After months of lock down, hospitals are eager to get patients back for routine care and elective procedures.

An executive at a Palm Beach hospital stands between a box of surgical masks and a Purell dispenser.

“We understand you haven’t been inside our hospitals for some time,” she says to the camera. The executive is delivering her line for a promotional video intended to get people back to hospitals after almost three months of avoiding the place at all costs.

Moments later, the film crew records her chatting with a vascular surgeon in an idled operating room, who soothingly reassures that a hospital is the cleanest place to be outside your home. “The hospital is safer than the grocery store,” the doctor says.

The video published on YouTube in mid-May is part of a marketing campaign by Tenet Healthcare, which operates 65 hospitals and about 250 ambulatory surgery centers. It’s one attempt to solve a problem the entire health-care industry faces: Most patients vanished when Covid-19 swept the country.

Billions in Losses

Much of routine health care came to a halt in March as hospitals cleared space for an expected wave of Covid-19 patients and authorities ordered a halt to surgeries and other procedures that could be postponed. The decline in volume has clobbered hospital finances, with the industry estimating it is losing $50 billion a month.

Emergency visits dropped by 42% in four weeks in April compared to the same period last year, the Centers for Disease Control reported June 3. The number of U.S. patients getting hospital care dropped by more than half in late March and early April compared to 2019, according to data from Strata Decision Technology, which provides software to hospitals.

Some of that rebounded modestly in May as distancing rules eased, but hospital volume is nowhere near pre-Covid levels. With the pandemic ongoing and many states still confirming hundreds of new cases daily, patients are hesitating to rush back to hospitals.

“The main thing that really is a gating factor at this point is patient comfort,” Tenet President and Chief Operating Officer Saumya Sutaria said at a recent virtual conference with investors. Tenet declined interview requests.

Free Masks

To counter the public’s fears, hospitals publicize what they’re doing to keep patients safe. They’re handing out masks at the door and spacing out chairs in waiting rooms. They’re steering Covid-19 patients to dedicated sites and testing staff regularly.

Hospitals need to show patients that their facilities are safe. At Catholic hospital chain Trinity Health, that includes moving patients through “Covid-free” zones with separate doors, elevators and waiting areas.

“We can put all of the outreach and marketing in place, but it’s only as effective as the people who execute those strategies,” said Julie Spencer Washington, Trinity’s chief marketing and communications officer.

The question for the entire industry is how quickly patients come back. The answer will depend on a constellation of related variables, including how reluctant people are to resume care, and the course of the pandemic. Future surges could force hospitals to shut down regular care again — and spook patients further.

Hospitals and doctors are going to have to do as much as they can as fast as they can until they can’t anymore,” said Lisa Bielamowicz, co-founder of consultancy Gist Healthcare.

Many patients, on the other hand, are in no rush. “They’re waiting and watching rather than pulling the trigger and going to see the doctor like they would have in the past,” Bielamowicz said.

The calculation for the health-care industry is different than for many other service businesses resuming operations. A hospital procedure or even a check-up is more intimate than a meal out.

For procedures that require in-patient rehab stints for recovery, the havoc Covid-19 has brought to nursing homes adds another layer of concern. “Those places seem like deathtraps now, so it’s much harder to bring back those patients because you need to find an alternative way for them to rehab,” Bielamowicz said.

And the biggest consumers of health care are the elderly and the chronically ill, the very people Covid-19 most threatens. “From personal discussions with my patients, the older and more co-morbidities that any individual has, the more nervous they are about returning,” said Shauna Gulley, chief clinical officer at Centura Health, which has hospitals in Colorado and Kansas.

Patients with serious ongoing needs like cancer treatment or emergencies like heart attacks and strokes have continued to get care. And many medical problems resolve on their own. The decline in those visits – for a migraine headache, for example – reduces providers’ revenue but may not harm patients in the long-term.

While people often go to the emergency room for needs better treated in other settings, now the concern is the opposite: That true medical emergencies will be neglected.

Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic hospital chain, has purchased billboards that say “Don’t delay ER care.” On hospital websites and social media posts, Tenet facilities reminded patients that “Emergencies Can’t wait. We’re Open & Safe.”

Deferred Care

Doctors fear that some patients will defer needed care too long, allowing progressive conditions to deteriorate. Clinicians at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, have seen patients arrive sicker because they didn’t come earlier, said Ken Gibbs, the hospital’s CEO.

“There are unmet needs, I think that’s clear,” he said. “And I think the data on that will emerge, but it will take time.”

Maimonides treated 471 Covid patients at the peak on April 9, Gibbs said, and still had about 100 in late May. The hospital has applied for a waiver from New York State to resume elective surgeries, which are still on hold in New York City.

Some hospitals are preparing for a lasting dent in their revenue. For years, health economists have pointed to waste in the health-care system, with the estimated cost of unnecessary treatments in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Covid-19 may demonstrate that patients are willing to forego some of that care or opt for more conservative treatment.

People who had delayed back surgeries, for example, may now decide that doing physical therapy at home is good enough, said Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer at CommonSpirit Health, a large Catholic hospital system.

“We’ve all talked about too much intervention in health care in the past,” he said. “I think we’ll see a new normal in terms of what patients want to do and what doctors want to do, and we will have to adjust to that.”

Red Cross blood supply cut in half amid ‘staggering’ donor decline

Posted on June 3, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Blood Supply, Coronavirus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Social Distancing, Supply Chain • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/supply-chain/red-cross-blood-supply-cut-in-half-amid-staggering-donor-decline.html?utm_medium=email

The American Red Cross said its blood supply levels have been cut in half as social-distancing and stay-at-home orders have caused fewer people to donate, The New York Times reported.

Across the country, collection drives at offices, schools and churches have been canceled to comply with stay-at-home orders.

For a while, the drop in donations weren’t critical because supply and demand fell at the same time, as hospitals canceled most elective surgeries and far fewer people were getting injured in car crashes and other accidents.

But now that hospitals are resuming elective surgeries and many people are leaving the house more often, the number of donations has not increased, according to the Times.

Chris Hrouda, president of biomedical services for the American Red Cross, which collects about 40 percent of the country’s blood donations, told the Times that there’s been a “staggering” drop in blood supply. The Red Cross usually has enough blood to meet the country’s needs for five days; it currently has less than two days’ worth.

On May 31, the Red Cross had to stop sending hospitals their full blood orders and could fill only 75 percent of them, Mr. Hrouda told the Times. He said that if donations don’t increase in the next week or two, the Red Cross will have to start filling just half of hospitals’ requested blood orders.

“It puts hospitals and doctors in the precarious position of deciding who gets blood,” Mr. Hrouda told the Times.

Hospitals are performing even more surgeries than before the pandemic to get through backlogs of operations.

Brian Gannon, chief executive of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Texas, said he told about 100 hospitals that get blood from his center to slow down their elective procedures, according to the Times.

Read the full article here.

Insurers are refunding surplus revenues now, rather than later

Posted on June 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in ACA, Coronavirus, Deferred Healthcare, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Health Insurance Industry, Health Insurance Premiums, Health Insurance Refunds, Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) • Leave a comment

https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/insurers-are-refunding-surplus-revenues-now-rather-later?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTldabE9UTTFZbU16TkRneSIsInQiOiI1djBwUWV6SVpzNlJtRUJEdXBEcEM1UkdGZWtvYTZpdkZ5V1NkTHhpNVFnVFwvR2FJSGlDTVVDcE5lTGtmTDhHY0hWQ05XU1NQNWt3UjRRYUtCOVZtS1ZoNG9SN2wxNU1xYmJVT1k5YWptY2hYVVBObCszNVhiREVFSERNT1hxRkMifQ%3D%3D

Why Your Health Insurer May Owe You Money - Consumer Reports

Insurers will be issuing a total of about $2.7 billion in refunds, estimates the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s postponement of elective surgeries and regular care has created a surplus in revenue for insurers due to lower spending.

Health plans are mandated to spend at least 80% of their revenues on medical care. When they make more than that, they have to give money back to the purchasers.

Insurers are doing this now, rather than later, according to the Advisory Board’s practice manager Rachel Sokol, who spoke during the company’s weekly meeting on the impact of COVID-19 to payers.

Insurers want to create immediate value for members, instead of waiting for 2021, she said.

“That’s why we’re seeing the premium discounts now,” Sokol said.

Among those insurers refunding money, UnitedHealthcare said it would provide more than $1.5 billion in initial assistance, including customer premium credits, because its members have been unable to access routine or planned care due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UnitedHealthcare has seen a lower volume of medical care being delivered than it anticipated when it set premiums.

Commercial fully insured individual and employer customers will get credits ranging from 5% to 20% – depending upon the specific plan – which will be applied to premium billings in June.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Insurers are mandated to provide refunds, but also they want to motivate members to return for regular care, to prevent more costly and complex outcomes later.

While hospitals have taken a financial hit from COVID-19, the major health insurers have shown minimal impact.

In fact, insurers could see a benefit to earnings in 2020 as medical services decline, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

THE LARGER TREND

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to rebate some premiums to their customers if medical claims fall short of expectations, based on a three-year average of medical costs.

The Medical Loss Ratio of the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies that cover individuals and small businesses to spend at least 80% of their premium income on healthcare claims and quality improvement, leaving the remaining 20% for administration, marketing, and profit.

The MLR threshold is higher for large group insured plans, which must spend at least 85% of premium dollars on healthcare and quality improvement, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Insurers may either issue rebates in the form of a premium credit or a check payment and, in the case of people with employer coverage, the rebate may be shared between the employer and the employee, Kaiser said.

Using preliminary data reported by insurers to state regulators and compiled by Market Farrah Associates, Kaiser estimates that insurers will be issuing a total of about $2.7 billion across all markets – nearly doubling the previous record high of $1.4 billion last year.

Insurers face uncertainty in setting 2021 premiums

Posted on June 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in ACA, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Coronavirus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Health Insurance Industry, Health Insurance Premiums, Health Insurance Refunds, Market Uncertainty, Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), Uncertainty • Leave a comment

https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/insurers-face-uncertainty-setting-2021-premiums?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTldabE9UTTFZbU16TkRneSIsInQiOiI1djBwUWV6SVpzNlJtRUJEdXBEcEM1UkdGZWtvYTZpdkZ5V1NkTHhpNVFnVFwvR2FJSGlDTVVDcE5lTGtmTDhHY0hWQ05XU1NQNWt3UjRRYUtCOVZtS1ZoNG9SN2wxNU1xYmJVT1k5YWptY2hYVVBObCszNVhiREVFSERNT1hxRkMifQ%3D%3D

What To Do When Faced With Career Uncertainty

Insurers need to project the future cost of delayed elective procedures and total expenses of COVID-19 care.

While health insurers have saved money by the cancellation of elective surgeries and many are currently refunding excess revenue under the Medical Loss Ratio, premiums for the 2021 plan year are still in question.

There is a lot of uncertainty, America’s Health Insurance Plans said. Without comprehensive data, insurers are working to estimate 2021 healthcare costs and must base their rates on projected costs, AHIP explained in an infographic.

It is too soon to know what the real healthcare costs of COVID-19 will be. Also, delayed elective and non-urgent care will likely be delivered – and paid for – later.

That care could be more complex and costly because it was delayed, AHIP said.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Insurers are working to meet state deadlines to file 2021 premiums in the individual market.

THE LARGER TREND

Federal law requires insurers to spend 80-85 cents of every premium dollar on medical services and care. The rest, under the Medical Loss Ratio, may go towards administrative expenses, regulatory costs, federal and state taxes, customer service and other expenses.

The COVID-19 pandemic’s postponement of elective surgeries and regular care has created a surplus in revenue for insurers due to lower spending, which many are refunding now.

ON THE RECORD

“COVID-19 has had a very real impact on the economic, physical, and mental health of millions of Americans,” said Jeanette Thornton, senior vice president of Product, Employer, and Commercial Policy at AHIP. “Our members are working through this uncertainty to strengthen access to affordable care as the fight against the coronavirus continues. COVID-19 dramatically changed the healthcare landscape–in 2020 and for years to come.

UPMC latest hospital system to report Q1 loss due to COVID-19

Posted on June 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Cash, Cash Reserves, Cash-Flow Improvements, Coronavirus, Credit Quality, Credit Ratings, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Fear, Health Insurance Industry, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Operating Expenses, Operating Income, Operating Margin, Operating Performance, Operating Revenue • Leave a comment

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/upmc-latest-hospital-system-to-report-q1-loss-due-to-covid-19/578907/

Complaint: UPMC uses nonprofit dollars to build for-profit ...

Dive Brief:

UPMC reported a small operating loss but higher revenues for the quarter ending March 31. The Pittsburgh-based regional healthcare system attributed the red ink to the COVID-19 pandemic and suggested the next quarter could be even tougher.
The healthcare services division “experienced significant reductions in patient volumes during the last two weeks” of the quarter, representing about a $150 million loss in revenue for that time period, UPMC said in its unaudited financial statement posted Friday. The system said it is receiving about $255 million from the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
UPMC’s health insurance plan also saw increased revenue due to a significant rise in its membership, but its operating income dropped by 56%.

Dive Insight:

UPMC, which operates 40 hospitals in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, has been growing steadily in recent years. However, its growth in the first quarter collided head-on with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The system posted a $41 million operating loss on revenues of $5.5 billion, according to the financial report. For the first quarter of 2019, it reported an operating profit of $44 million on revenue of $5.1 billion. The system did not disclose its net numbers.

Investment losses reached nearly $800,000, compared to a gain of more than $224,000 in the prior-year period.

While overall outpatient revenue increased 1% during the quarter, revenue from physician services was down 3% while hospital admissions and observations dropped by 4%.

UPMC is the latest nonprofit healthcare provider to report losses blamed on COVID-19, although its numbers are not as big as those reported by Kaiser Permanente and CommonSpirit Health, both of which reported quarterly losses exceeding $1 billion apiece.

UPMC did note in a statement that its business was moving back toward normal in recent weeks.

“During the COVID-19 crisis, UPMC’s leaders, scientists, clinicians and front-line workers throughout our … system were prepared to care for the potential surge of COVID-positive patients while also safely providing essential, life-saving care to our non-COVID patients,” Edward Karlovich, UPMC’s interim chief financial officer, said in a statement. “However, many patients who had scheduled surgeries and procedures before the crisis postponed their care. With assurances that all our facilities are safe for all patients and staff, we are seeing our patients returning for their essential care that had been postponed and our current volumes are beginning to approach near-normal levels.”

The system also noted that it was sitting on $7 billion in cash and liquid investments. It reported 99 days cash on hand.

UPMC’s insurance division remained in the black, but was under strain. Its operating income was $39 million — compared to $89 million for the first quarter of 2019. However, membership grew by 7% during the quarter to 3.8 million enrollees.

Sluggish patient volume could jeopardize hospitals repaying advanced Medicare funds, report suggests

Posted on June 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Cash, Cash Reserves, Cash-Flow Improvements, Coronavirus, Credit Quality, Credit Ratings, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Emergency Care, Fear, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Market Outlook, Market Uncertainty, Medicare Advance Payments • Leave a comment

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/outpatient-visits-rebounding-transunion-report/578894/

CMS Suspends Advance Payment Program to Clinicians for COVID-19

Dive Brief:

Though hospital volumes are expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels for quite some time, rebounding outpatient visits seem to be outpacing those for inpatient care or emergency department visits, according to a Transunion Healthcare survey of more than 500 hospitals.
During the week of May 10-16, outpatient visits were down 31% and emergency visits were down 40% compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Inpatient volumes were down 20% and continue to trend upward, though at a slower rate than outpatient or ER visit volumes. Outpatient visits plunged between April 5 and 11, hitting a bottom of 64% down from typical volume.
Baby boomers (born between 1944 and 1964) and the what the report calls the silent generation (born before 1944) are returning to ERs faster than younger generations. Millennials (born between 1980 and 1994) and Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2002) patients, however, are driving positive trends in inpatient and outpatient rebounds.

Dive Insight:

The report echos several others suggesting patients are still cautious about returning to the hospital and other care settings. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that the pandemic has forced nearly half of patients to postpone medical care. About 32% of those who have postponed care said they would get the service in the next three months and 10% said they will do so in four months to a year.

The overall sluggish outlook led Transunion to suggest patient volumes may not be restored to pre-pandemic levels soon enough to both sustain operational and clinical functions and repay advanced Medicare payments that many systems large and small have taken advantage of from CMS.

Because of the demographic trends, systems may have greater success scheduling appointments by checking in first with younger generations, the report suggests.

“We think as providers are beginning to really drive their patient engagement strategies that it’s best if they start reaching out to them, because it’s likely they’ll be willing to re-enter the care setting,” John Yount, vice president for TransUnion Healthcare, told Healthcare Dive.

Providers are taking steps to ease patient fears upon returning to medical settings by implementing temperature checks, spacing out waiting rooms to allow for social distancing and taking other safety measures.

But a sluggish recovery is still likely as patients plan to continue delaying care, especially older adults who are at higher risk for COVID-19 and in some states have been told to continue following stay at home orders.

The slowest return to growth in emergency room visits raises concerns that patients who need emergency care may be avoiding hospital settings due to COVID-19 fears, according to the report.

Older patients are leading the pack in returning to ERs, and they also experienced the largest decline in inpatient volumes from March 1-7 and April 5-11.

Comparatively, younger generations had smaller declines in visit activity overall and are returning to care settings faster, Yount said.

“These deferrals will have implications for both patients and providers — high-acuity and chronically-ill patients risk waiting too long to seek care, and a continued reduction in visit volume will further amplify existing financial challenges for hospitals,” David Wojczynski, president of TransUnion Healthcare, said in a statement.

Hospitals to face bumpy recovery with depressed margins into 2021, S&P predicts

Posted on June 1, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in Coronavirus, Credit Quality, Credit Ratings, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Financially Distressed, Health System, Home Health, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Laboratory Industry, Market Outlook, Market Uncertainty, Medicare Advance Payments, Operating Expenses, Operating Income, Operating Margin, Operating Performance, Operating Revenue, Paycheck Protection Program, The CARES Act • Leave a comment

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/SP-ratings-hospital-margins-historic-lows-until-2021/578815/

April was the worst month ever for hospital operating margins

Dive Brief:

Despite rebounding patient volumes at some health systems, an overall slow and bumpy recovery period is most likely to last into next year, according to analysts with S&P Global Ratings. Operating margins will remain below historic levels for the rest of 2020 and into early 2021.
The ratings agency took negative action against companies in health sub-sectors facing more sudden and dramatic declines in business and now face less certain paths to recovery than others, such as dental companies, along with physical therapy and ambulatory surgery centers.
Medical staffing and physician groups were also downgraded or had their outlooks revised, due to major declines in emergency room and doctors office visits coupled with declining demand for anesthesia and radiology services related to delayed surgeries.

Dive Insight:

Federal relief grants are helping offset major financial losses for some health systems in the short-term, but factors like a second surge causing another total lockdown, rising unemployment and hesitancy from patients as they return to medical settings make long-term prospects unpredictable.

S&P Global Ratings said in a report this week that it took 36 negative actions in health services companies during the pandemic. The most affected sub-sector was dental companies. It also changed outlooks on ambulatory surgery centers given significant volume declines.

Hospitals and home healthcare were rated at moderate to high financial risk, though analysts expect those businesses to recover faster due to the more essential nature of their services, according to the report. And in the short-term, government relief funds will help bolster hospitals’ liquidity as they attempt to return to normal operations and recover from steep losses.

Delayed elective care that’s just restarting in some states led most hospitals to the financial fallout. But even hospitals treating a large number of COVID-19 patients will be hurt, as these patients are expensive to treat due to higher supply and labor costs, the report said.

It also found that nonprofit and for-profit operators could fare differently in their financial recoveries. Non-profit hospitals generally have larger cash reserves than for profit systems, which rely instead almost exclusively on cash flow and borrowings for liquidity.

Providers are relying specifically on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act which allocated $100 billion for providers that they don’t have to pay back, though there has been some criticism about how the money was distributed and whether it advantages some providers over others.

A Kaiser Family Foundation report found that CARES funding tends to favor for profit, higher margin hospitals with a higher mix of private payer revenue compared to those that rely on government payers such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Other legislation to help financially struggling health systems include advanced Medicare payments in the form of loans that must be paid back roughly four months after they are received.

The Paycheck Protection and Healthcare Enhancement Act passed in late April gave providers an additional $75 billion, though calculation and distribution methods have yet to be determined.

The U.S. House of Representatives also passed a $3 trillion bill dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act that allocates $100 billion for provider reimbursement and creates special enrollment periods for Medicare and Affordable Care Act plans, though the Trump administration said it’s too soon for additional relief funding.

Lab companies were put in the moderate risk category, and seeing a “40% decline in lab tests net of COVID testing,” S&P said.

Still, it said despite the drop in overall testing for LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, S&P predicted “their services to become even more important, and for their services to recover reasonably well as testing related to the pandemic continues to grow and as medical procedures and physician visits ramp-up through the rest of the year and into 2021.”

266 hospitals furloughing workers in response to COVID-19

Posted on May 29, 2020 by henrykotula • Posted in 2020 Election Issues, Cash, Cash Reserves, Cash-Flow Improvements, Coronavirus, Crisis, Crisis Management, Economic Crisis, Economic Stimulus, Elective Procedures, Elective Surgery, Emergency Preparedness, Employee Benefits, Employee Furlough, Employee Hiring Freeze, Employee Layoffs, Employee Pay Cuts, Employee Protections, Employer-Based Health Insurance, Financially Distressed, Health Insurance Coverage Adequacy, Health System, Hospital, Hospital Industry, Infection Control, Infection Control Plan, Infectious Virus, Job, Job Market, Job Search, Job Security, Net Income, Nonoperating Income, Operating Expenses, Operating Income, Operating Margin, Operating Performance, Operating Revenue, Pandemic, Public Health, Public Safety, Quarantine, Social Distancing, Unemployment, Unemployment Insurance • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/49-hospitals-furloughing-workers-in-response-to-covid-19.html

Many U.S. hospitals and health systems have suspended elective procedures to save capacity, supplies and staff to treat COVID-19 patients.

As a result of suspending these nonemergent procedures, several systems have lost or expect to lose a large chunk of their annual revenue, forcing them to make cost reduction a top priority.

Below is a breakdown of the hospitals that have furloughed staff in an effort to remain financially stable amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 22-28

1. Emory Healthcare, an 11-hospital system based in Atlanta, has cut hours or furloughed 1,500 workers in an effort to help offset a revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs, slated to take effect June 1, will last until Aug. 31.

2. Citing volume and revenue declines from the COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health said it would lay off 1,200 employees and furlough an unspecified portion of its workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic. When announcing the workforce reductions, the health system said it spent $85 million to prepare and respond to the pandemic.

3. Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health said in its financial report released May 27 that although it reassigned as many staffers as possible to new roles, some employees were asked to choose between using paid time off or taking unpaid time off. The measure was due to a dip in volume from the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. Edward Elmhurst (Ill.) Health has furloughed a portion of its 8,000-person workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ABC7 Chicago. It is unclear how many employees were furloughed.

5. Cadiz, Ky.-based Trigg County Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff due to the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WJDZ Radio. The hospital will bring employees back when patient volume returns.

Note: In addition to new furloughs this week, two health systems announced plans to furlough additional staffers.

Seattle-based UW Medicine announced 4,000 additional furloughs on May 25, that affect union employees. The organization initially announced plans to furlough 1,500 staffers on May 18. Read more about the earlier furloughs here.
Additionally, New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health said it implemented a second round of furloughs in mid-May. It initially implemented furloughs for staff not actively involved in patient care in early April. It said it is working to absorb a deep revenue hit. Between the two rounds, more than 10 percent of Southcoast Health’s 7,500 employees were affected. Scroll to April 3 for more details on Southcost Health’s furloughs.

May 14-21

1. Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla., told investors May 20 that it furloughed 775 employees and has permanently laid off 208 employees to help offset losses incurred from the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs reduced payroll by $3 million in April, and the layoffs are expected to save the system $11.1 million in payroll expenses this year.

2. Citing a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System has furloughed 1,070 workers through July 31. The furloughs affect about 4.4 percent of the health system’s workforce of 24,300. Wellstar said it is anticipating a $400 million to $600 million loss in 2020. The loss was mainly attributed to reduced patient volume. However, it also includes increased expenses for buying protective gear.

3. BJC HealthCare, a 15-hospital system in St. Louis, has furloughed 2,962 employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system said the furloughs are expected to last eight weeks, but some employees may be called back to work depending on patient volume.

4. UW Medicine will furlough 1,500 employees to help address an anticipated $500 million loss due to COVID-19, the Seattle-based organization said May 18. Affected employees will be furloughed for at least one week and up to eight weeks. During the furlough, employees will retain healthcare benefits.

5. The Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y., has laid off 70 staffers and plans to implement furloughs to help offset losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital said it will first offer voluntary two- to six-week furloughs and then implement involuntary ones if its savings goals are not met.

6. Lee Health, a system with more than 14,500 employees in Fort Myers, Fla., is offering voluntary buyouts and a voluntary summer leave program to help offset losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The summer sabbaticals are four to six weeks off from work during the summer. Employees who opt into the summer leave program can use vacation time if they have it or it will be unpaid.

7. Citing a patient volume drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Mo., will furlough a portion of its staff, according to KSDK. It is unclear how many employees will be affected and how long the furloughs will last. The hospital said it would bring employees back when patient volume increases.

8. Nurses in the delivery ward at Greater El Monte (Calif.) Community Hospital have been furloughed after the hospital suspended services due to low patient volume amid the pandemic, according to the Sun Gabriel Valley Tribune.

May 13

1. Providence Oregon will implement staff furloughs and leadership pay cuts to help offset financial losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Portland-based health system announced this week. The health system said its core leaders will take a one-week unpaid furlough between May 17 and July 31. In addition, caregivers will flex their hours during the same time period. The hours will be flexed based on patient volume.

May 12

1. Citing a revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentfield, Calif.-based MarinHealth Medical Center has furloughed 115 employees, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Affected employees will retain their healthcare benefits.

May 11

1. Peterborough, N.H.-based Monadnock Community Hospital has furloughed 20 percent of its workforce, or about 100 employees, according to The Keene Sentinel. The hospital said it lost $1.7 million in March and expects to lose $24 million by the end of September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy, which has hospitals in four states, said it plans to furlough workers and cut jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While Mercy didn’t disclose the number of employees that will be furloughed, an email obtained by the Post-Dispatch said “thousands” would be affected.

3. Citing a financial toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, Harlingen, Texas-based Valley Baptist Medical Center plans to furlough an undisclosed number of employees for 90 days, according to The Valley Morning Star.

4. Bristol (Conn.) Hospital has furloughed 103 employees and cut hours of about 200 staff members, according to the CT Mirror. The independent hospital said it expects to see a loss of $15 million to $18 million by September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center, which initially announced plans to furlough employees in April, announced May 8 that it would furlough 3,474 employees, or more than 19 percent of its workforce. Read more about the furlough here or under April 29.

May 8

1. The University of Chicago Medical Center plans to furlough more than 800 employees, or about 8 percent of its workforce, due to a decline in operating revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The academic medical center reported it saw a $70 million decline in operating revenue in March and April due to the suspension of elective procedures. Most furloughed employees are in nonclinical roles. The furloughs are expected to end by July 31.

2. Hyannis, Mass.-based Cape Cod Healthcare plans to furlough 600 of its 5,700 workers to help offset losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cape Cod Healthcare is projecting a $74 million loss by the end of the fiscal year, according to The Enterprise. Affected staff work in nonclinical and nursing roles. The furloughs will take effect May 10 and will last at least 30 days.

3. To help overcome the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Metro Health is offering its staff members a voluntary 12-week furlough program, according to MLive. The health system also plans to lay off some employees and implement other “staffing changes.” The furloughs, layoffs and other staffing adjustments are expected to affect less than 10 percent of the health system’s workforce of 3,059.

4. Citing financial challenges and a patient volume drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Cincinnati Medical Center has furloughed staff to better align staffing levels with demand, according to NPR.

5. Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore has furloughed a portion of its staff during the pandemic, according to The Baltimore Sun. The hospital said the furloughs, as well as other cost-cutting measures, were necessary because it is “not immune to the broader economic impact of the pandemic.”

6. Auburndale, Mass.-based Atrius Health has furloughed some staff due to the patient volume drop amid the pandemic, according to a nurse who works at the system who spoke to NPR.

May 7

1. MultiCare Health System plans to implement mandatory 17-shift furloughs for 6,000 employees to help offset losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tacoma, Wash.-based organization said May 6. The furloughs, which will start next week and last through January, will mainly affect non-clinical employees. Affected employees will be able to retain healthcare benefits and have the option to use paid time off for the shifts to minimize the financial hit.

2. Iowa-based Mercy Iowa City is furloughing a portion of its staff and asking other employees to cut down hours to help offset a revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Gazette. The hospital system said that about 7.5 percent of staff will be affected by the furloughs and reduction in hours. The cost-cutting measures are expected to last about 12 weeks. Mercy Iowa City employs 1,400.

3. Citing a patient volume drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yankton, S.D.-based Avera Sacred Heart Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to WNAX Radio. The hospital said the furloughs have mainly affected employees not involved in direct patient care.

4. Pullman (Wash.) Regional Hospital has furloughed an undisclosed number of employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KREM. The organization has also capped overtime, limited paid time off and implemented pay cuts for executives to help offset the revenue loss from the pandemic.

May 6

1. Citing a projected financial loss exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine plans to furlough or lay off 1,400 full-time employees. The health system expects to record a financial loss of up to $230 million in the fiscal year ending June 30. The health system also expects losses to continue into the next fiscal year.

2. Due to the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia, Calif., has furloughed an undisclosed number of staff, according to The Business Journal. The medical center has launched a relief fund to help employees who were furloughed. The Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation will accept donations through July.

3. Warrenton, Va.-based Fauquier Hospital has furloughed 61 employees, or about 9 percent of its workforce, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Fauquier Now. The furloughs were initially announced last month.

4. Birmingham, Ala.-based Brookwood Baptist Health has furloughed a portion of its staff due to patient volume declines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WBRC. Furloughed employees still have access to their medical benefits.

5. Breckenridge, Texas-based Stephens Memorial Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff to help offset a revenue loss attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Breckenridge American. The hospital said it will start bringing back the furloughed workers because it was able to secure a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program.

May 5

1. Lawrence, Kan.-based LMH Health has furloughed 221 employees as it works to offset revenue shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Lawrence Journal World. The hospital system said that 52 employees would be furloughed for one week, 77 for two weeks and 92 for more than two weeks. Affected employees will retain their health benefits.

2. Monongahela (Pa.) Valley Hospital, citing a loss in revenue due to the suspension of nonessential procedures, has furloughed 10 percent of its staff, according to CBS Pittsburgh. The furloughs affect about 100 staff members. Other staff members volunteered to take a leave of absence, according to the report.

3. Citing a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Princeton (W.Va.) Community Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to The Bluefield Daily Telegram. The hospital said the majority of furloughed employees worked in services that were closed or saw a drop in patient volume amid the pandemic.

May 4

1. Employees at Samaritan Healthcare of Moses Lake (Wash.) are taking voluntary furloughs to help cut expenses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Columbia Basin Herald. The hospital is facing a financial loss due to restrictions on performing elective procedures. The furloughs are expected to start by May 4.

2. Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Mich., is considering several cost-cutting measures, including voluntary and involuntary furloughs and reduced employee hours, to help offset COVID-19 financial losses, according to MLive.com. The medical center also is considering layoffs.

3. Citing a revenue drop of 40 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health System is requiring staff to take 10-day furloughs, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Employees can use paid time off during the furlough, but the health system said it expects some employees will have to take unpaid leave.

May 1

1. Minneapolis-based Children’s Minnesota plans to furlough 181 nurses to help offset the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Star Tribune. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association must still approve the furlough agreement. If the furloughs take place, they will affect 17 percent of nurses.

2. Providence, R.I.-based Care New England has furloughed a portion of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WJAR. The health system said that the furloughs affect workers in departments that have seen the greatest patient volume drop. Furloughs were voluntary and involuntary. They are being reassessed every two weeks.

3. Citing a decline in patient volume and a resulting revenue drop, Indiana (Pa.) Regional Medical Center has furloughed 200 employees, according to The Indiana Gazette. The furloughs are expected to last until May 31. Furloughed employees will still have access to health insurance and can apply for unemployment.

4. MU Health Care, based in Columbia, Mo., has furloughed staff at its medical school and plans to furlough additional healthcare workers at its hospitals due to the economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KRCG TV. The health system will also end contracts for about 70 traveling nurses. In addition, the system will not fill the 300 open positions at MU Health Care.

5. Citing a financial hit and patient volume drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to WTVA. The hospital expects to begin calling back some of the first employees furloughed next week as nonemergent surgeries resume.

6. CHI St. Joseph in Lexington, Ky., said it has worked to align staffing levels with current volumes, according to KBTX. Unnamed sources told the publication that hundreds of employees have been affected by furloughs amid the pandemic.

“We continue to look at every possible way to reduce costs and take advantage of resources available to our ministry, including federal funding recently approved by Congress. While those funds are welcomed, they will not be sufficient to address our financial challenges,” CHI St. Joseph told the publication.

April 30

1. Hospital Sisters Health Systems, a 15-hospital system in Springfield, Ill., will furlough a portion of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WAND TV. The health system said the furloughs were necessary to ensure it can remain financially stable. The furloughs were both voluntary and involuntary.

2. The Christ Hospital, based in Cincinnati, will furlough a portion of its staff that is not directly involved in patient care, according to WLWT. The furloughs, which will begin in May, will last 60 days. Affected employees can apply for unemployment and retain their healthcare benefits.

3. Citing a significant reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newburyport, Mass.-based Anna Jaques Hospital has furloughed 134 employees, according to the NewburyportNews.com. The unpaid furloughs affect about 10 percent of the hospital’s workforce.

4. Encompass Health, a Birmingham, Ala.-based operator of post-acute services, has implemented market-specific furloughs, according to Home Health Care News. The decision is to better align staffing with demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report. It is unclear how many employees are affected.

5. Due to the patient volume drop amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some employees at San Francisco-based UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals have had their hours cut, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. One employee, Stephanie Lum Ho, a physical therapist who works at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Walnut Creek, Calif., said her hours were cut in half.

April 29

1. Stamford (Conn.) Health plans to furlough 375 employees to help offset a revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Stamford Advocate. The health system said revenue was down $10 million in March, and that loss is expected to hit $27 million in April. The health system has 3,600 employees.

2. Citing a revenue loss of $85 million per month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, plans to furlough a portion of its staff not involved in direct patient care. The furloughs will last up to three months. Affected employees can retain their health insurance benefits and can use their paid time off to help offset some of the pay loss. The health system also plans to reduce executive and physician compensation.

3. St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Livingston, Mich., has furloughed 50 staff members due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Livingston Daily. The furloughs affected support staff from both of the health systems locations.

4. After exhausting other alternatives to shore up finances amid the pandemic, University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center will begin furloughing employees in May, according to WXXI News. The hospital system announced May 8 that it would furlough 3,474 employees, more than 19 percent of its 17,885-person workforce.

5. Citing a patient volume and revenue drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, Coshocton (Ohio) Regional Medical Center has furloughed a portion of its 320 employees, according to the Coshocton Tribune. The furloughs are expected to last until May 31.

6. Willis-Knighton Health System in Shreveport, La., has placed a portion of its staff on unpaid leave. Affected staff worked in areas where the health system found a lower or nonexistent demand for services. In a statement provided to Becker’s Hospital Review, Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford said the state’s directive to curb non-emergent procedures and the effects of the pandemic left about half of the services provided by Willis-Knighton significantly reduced or halted.

7. Henderson, Ky.-based Methodist Health plans to furlough 50 employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WEHT. The health system said patient volumes have been gravely affected by the state ban on non-emergent procedures.

April 28

1. To help minimize the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Louis-based SSM Health plans to furlough 2,000 employees. The furloughs, expected to last at least 13 weeks, will affect about 5 percent of the health system’s workforce. The health system said it also plans to place more workers on partial furlough or reduce their hours. Affected employees can apply for federal and state unemployment.

2. Bethel, Alaska-based Yukon-Kuskokwim Health will furlough, lay off or reduce hours of 300 workers to help offset a revenue loss attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Alaska Public Radio. The cuts and furloughs will occur across four categories: workers who are immediately laid off, workers who are furloughed, workers who volunteer for furlough and workers who have their hours cut by 50 percent. The health system employs about 1,400 people.

3. Citing a projected $100 million shortfall in revenue from March through June due to the pandemic, Rancho Mirage, Calif.-based Eisenhower Health has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to The Desert Sun. About 30 to 35 employees have been fully furloughed and others have been partially furloughed with reduced hours.

4. Washington, Ind.-based Daviess Community Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff to help stabilize its financial position after a revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Washington Times Herald. Affected employees can retain their benefits and have the opportunity to apply for unemployment. The furloughs will be reevaluated after 30 days.

5. University of Vermont Health System in Burlington has furloughed a few hundred employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NBC affiliate NECN. About 70 of the affected staffers were reassigned to different roles within the health system. The exact number of furloughed employees was not disclosed.

6. Citing a 40 percent reduction in patient volume and a resulting revenue drop, Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to the Daily Memphian. Some of the employees volunteered to take furloughs. Employees will still have health insurance benefits.

7. Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert Regional Medical Center has furloughed an undisclosed number of employees because of a patient volume drop amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Desert Sun.

8. Oceanside, Calif.-based Tri-City Medical Center has sent layoff or furlough notices to 24 nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Voice of San Diego.

April 27

1. Citing a revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson-based West Tennessee Healthcare has furloughed 1,100 individuals of its 7,000-person workforce. The health system said it lost $18 million in March due to the statewide ban on elective procedures that went into effect March 23. To comply with the order, the health system temporarily shut down some hospital departments as well as its outpatient surgery center.

2. Annapolis, Md.-based Anne Arundel Medical Center has furloughed 1,000 employees due to low patient volume and other financial challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. All furloughed employees received 80 hours of pay and are able to retain their benefits through June 30. The medical center said it plans to redeploy some of the furloughed workers to support an anticipated COVID-19 surge.

3. Lexington, Ky.-based UK Healthcare has furloughed 1,500 employees to help offset a COVID-19-related revenue loss, according to Kentucky.com. The health system said it has seen a drop in the number of services offered after elective procedures were canceled statewide in March. The health system said earlier in April it planned to place some employees on unpaid leave after April 25 if the pandemic continued to affect operations.

4. St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, N.H., has furloughed 300 employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WMUR. The furloughs affect about 20 percent of the hospital’s employees. In March, the hospital said it lost $3.6 million in revenue, a number expected to double by the end of April.

5. Citing a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresno, Calif.-based St. Agnes Medical Center has furloughed 175 employees, according to ABC affiliate KFSN. The hospital said it has seen a large drop in the number of elective surgeries and emergency room visits during the pandemic. Affected employees are able to retain healthcare benefits.

6. Pikeville (Ky.) Medical Center has furloughed more than 200 employees amid mounting financial pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WCHS TV. The medical center said that the furloughs are necessary because it is predicting a “significant historical financial loss for April.” The furloughs took effect April 26.

7. In an effort to offset financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cody (Wyo.) Regional Health said it is furloughing a portion of its nonclinical staff, according to The Cody Enterprise. The health system said the furloughs will last at least two months. Since the crisis began, Cody Regional Health’s revenue has been down 60 percent, according to the report.

8. Citing a decrease in patient volume and revenue, Mobile, Ala.-based Infirmary Health has furloughed a portion of its staff, according to NBC 15. Affected employees will retain their healthcare benefits.

9. Show Low, Ariz.-based Summit Healthcare, projecting a revenue decrease of 40 percent to 50 percent due to COVID-19, is asking employees to voluntarily take furloughs, according to the White Mountain Independent. The hospital system said that the state ban on elective surgeries has significantly reduced workloads and volumes. The voluntary furloughs would begin May 2 and last 90 days.

“Furloughing allows us to retain talent while providing limited benefits,” Summit Healthcare CEO Ron McArthur told the publication.

10. Dalles, Ore.-based Mid-Columbia Medical Center plans to furlough employees beginning May 3 in an effort to help offset losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Dalles Chronicle. The furloughs will affect departments that are not seeing a high patient volume.

11. Due to a revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford (Calif.) Health Care employees have the option to take a 20 percent pay cut, using paid time off, or taking a furlough, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Employees must use one of those options between April 27 and July 4.

April 24

1. HealthPartners will furlough 2,600 workers in an effort to help offset the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, the seven-hospital system in Bloomington, Minn., said April 23. The furloughs, made because the pandemic caused an “immediate and significant decrease in revenue,” affect about 10 percent of its workforce. The furloughs will take place in areas where the organization has stopped, slowed or deferred work temporarily.

2. Citing financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health plans to furlough up to 1,200 employees, according to WKBW. The furloughs will affect management and non-management positions. They will begin April 26 and will be reevaluated after 30 days. Affected employees will retain health benefits and can apply for unemployment.

3. Kansas City, Mo.-based Children’s Mercy will furlough 575 employees for up to 60 days, according to KCTV 5. The furloughs will take effect April 26. Hospital officials said the furloughs are an effort to help offset fiscal losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., has furloughed 20 percent of its employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WOOD TV. The furloughs will affect about 400 staffers. Furloughed employees have access to health and life insurance through June 30.

5. Maryville, Tenn.-based Blount Memorial Hospital has furloughed 211 employees due to low patient volume amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Daily Times.

6. Citing a loss of $10 million per month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago-based Sinai Health System plans to lay off 24 nonclinical employees, furlough about 150 caregivers and cut hours for another 200 employees, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. The four-hospital system said it plans to call 200 furloughed employees back to work in 60 days.

7. After suffering a steep financial loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangor, Maine-based St. Joseph Healthcare has furloughed 100 of its 1,200 employees, according to The Bangor Daily News. St. Joseph said it ended March with an operating loss of $4 million and expects a bigger hit in April. The majority of affected staff volunteered to take a furlough.

8. Laurinburg, N.C.-based Scotland Health Care System will furlough nearly 70 employees through June 30, according to The Laurinburg Exchange. Most affected employees work in nonclinical roles, though some front-line staff were furloughed. The health system said the furloughs were necessary given the drop in patient volume and revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

9. Citing a slowdown in elective procedures and a resulting revenue drop, St. Paul, Minn.-based Regions Hospital plans to furlough about 30 employees, according to the Pioneer Press. The affected employees include nurses, physicians, lab techs and other emergency room staffers.

10. Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Health plans to furlough a portion of its leadership and administrative staff as early as next week, according to The Winston-Salem Journal. The furlough period would last 16 weeks. It is unclear how many employees will be affected.

April 23

1. Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System plans to furlough 2,800 staffers not directly involved in patient care due to financial damage from the COVID-19 pandemic. The six-hospital system recorded a $43 million loss in operating income in March due to the cancellation of elective procedures, temporary clinic closures and the additional expenses of acquiring personal protective gear. The health system expects bigger losses in April and May.

2. Citing a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan has furloughed about 1,100 employees, according to The Providence Journal. A hospital spokesperson said most of the furloughs were taken voluntarily, and some employees have been able to take vacation or sick leave to maintain pay. Affected employees can retain their benefits, such as health insurance.

3. Woodbury, N.J.-based Inspira Health has furloughed 219 employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The list of furloughed employees will be reviewed every two weeks, the health system said. Inspira has about 6,000 employees.

4. Macomb, Ill.-based McDonough District Hospital plans to furlough 60 workers amid declining revenue from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to local radio station WGIL. The health system experienced a $1.2 million loss in net revenue in March, and expects April to have a much larger loss.

5. To address the financial impact and patient volume dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health will furlough a portion of its workforce, according to ABC 12. The health system will start the furloughs April 26. The number of affected employees was not disclosed.

6. Olean, N.Y.-based Upper Allegheny Health System plans to start a voluntary furlough program in an effort to help offset some of the losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Tap Into Greater Olean. The system projects it will incur a $25 million loss related to COVID-19 in 2020.

7. Due to the suspension of elective procedures and subsequent revenue drop, Grand Forks, N.D.-based Altru Health System plans to reduce the number staffing hours by 10 percent to 15 percent through furloughs and a system-required absence program, according to The Grand Forks Herald. The hospital system said it is facing a potential loss of $65 million this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

8. Cleveland-based University Hospital plans to cut the hours and pay of 4,100 employees not involved in patient care, according to Cleveland.com. Salaried nonclinical staffers are required to take a one-week unpaid furlough every five weeks. Hourly nonclinical workers will have their hours cut by 20 percent each week. Affected employees can use paid time off and sick time during those unpaid weeks. Hospital staff will still receive benefits, like health insurance.

9. Citing the financial hit from COVID-19, Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health plans to furlough a portion of its staff beginning May 1, according to a system press release. The furloughs will primarily affect employees who do not work directly in patient care.

“This is the most difficult decision our leadership team has ever made,” said Aspirus President and CEO Matthew Heywood. “These drastic actions are ones we hoped to avoid but must take to ensure we can continue to serve our communities throughout this pandemic and for generations after.”

10. To help protect the long-term financial health of the organization, Buffalo, N.Y.-based Kaleida Health is offering a temporary voluntary furlough program for its staff, the health system announced April 22 in a news release. The furlough program is a joint agreement with two unions that represent 8,000 Kaleida Health employees. Affected employees would be able to retain benefits, like health insurance.

Note: Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic said April 22 that 30,000 staff members will be affected by furloughs or cut hours. More information about the furloughs are listed under April 13, or you can click here.

April 22

1. Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health will permanently lay off 450 staff members, cut executive pay and furlough 2,475 workers due to the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the 450 layoffs affect corporate staff or administrative employees. The furloughs affect staff not directly caring for patients and hospital administrative staff.

2. Philadelphia-based Tower Health has furloughed at least 1,000 employees due to the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs affect roughly 7 percent of the system’s 14,000-person workforce.The seven-hospital system said it has lost about 50 percent of its revenue due to the suspension of elective procedures and drop in outpatient volume.

3. Citing the suspension of elective procedures and a 50 percent reduction in revenue, Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Bronson Healthcare has furloughed hundreds, according to WWMT. Furloughed employees will not be paid for at least four months, and they can not use paid time off. The number of furloughed employees was not disclosed.

4. Utica, N.Y.-based Mohawk Valley Health System will furlough about 20 percent of its workforce of 4,000 for up to four months, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. The health system said it is part of a cost-cutting plan to recover from lost revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. About 200 employees at Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Medical Center have volunteered to take a furlough, according to Ithaca.com. The hospital, which employs 1,500, has seen a 50 percent drop in patient volume. Employees that opt into the furlough program can retain health insurance, apply for unemployment benefits and will receive a stipend upon returning to work.

6. Hudson, N.Y.-based Columbia Memorial Hospital will furlough 125 workers due to a drop in patient volume and revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to News 10, an ABC affiliate. Furloughed workers can keep their health insurance and apply for unemployment benefits.

7. St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston, Maine, will furlough about 5 percent of its workforce to help offset losses attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Sun Journal. The furloughs, which affect 77 staffers, will begin April 27 and last for 30 days.

8. Seventy-one employees from Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, Ore., opted to take voluntarily furloughs, according to KCBY. The employees will be furloughed for 45 days.

9. Rosemont, Ill.-based Pipeline Health, which operates Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill., has furloughed an undisclosed number of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Chicago Tribune. Those employees will keep their health insurance and can apply for unemployment.

10. Citing a revenue decline of 50 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dansville, N.Y.-based Noyes Health has furloughed a portion of its staff for one to two week on a rolling basis, according to The Livingston County News. Furloughed staff will retain health insurance benefits.

11. Madison, Wis.-based UW Health plans to furlough some staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. UW Health CEO Alan Kaplan, MD, said UW Health saw a 62 percent decline in surgeries and patient volume, and as a result is expecting losses of $350 to $400 million between March 15 and June 30.

12. West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health said it will implement furloughs starting April 26, according to 25 News, an NBC affiliate. Furloughs will affect employees in areas of the system that are not operating at capacity or experiencing closures.

13. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Ill., has furloughed some staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Chicago Tribune.

14. MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Ill., has furloughed some staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Chicago Tribune.

April 21

1. Phoenix-based Banner Health plans to furlough 5 percent to 7 percent of its workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some affected employees may be furloughed for just a few weeks. Affected employees will still have benefits, like health insurance.

2. Citing the suspension of elective procedures, Ogdensburg, N.Y.-based Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center has furloughed or cut pay for 170 workers, according to WWNY TV. The furloughed employees will not be paid.

3. Rochester, Minn.-based Olmsted Medical Center, which employs 1,300 people, plans to furlough a portion of its staff to offset the financial hit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ABC 6 News. The medical center is projecting a loss of nearly $25 million for April through June due to the suspension of elective procedures.

4. Myrtue Medical Center, a Harlan, Iowa-based hospital with 422 employees, has furloughed a portion of its workforce due to a revenue drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to HarlanOnline.com. The hospital said that the pandemic has caused a nearly 50 percent drop in procedures, visits and overall patient volumes.

5. Hutchinson (Kan.) Regional Healthcare System, experiencing financial strain from the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to furlough staff, according to The Hutchinson News. The system said the furloughs will affect employees at each of its facilities, but declined to discuss the number of employees that will be furloughed.

6. Poteau-based Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center, a 25-bed critical access hospital, has furloughed 52 employees, according to Erie News Now. The hospital said that suspending non-emergent procedures has caused a dip in patient volume and revenue.

7. Citing a revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic and suspension of elective procedures, Framingham, Mass.-based MetroWest Medical Center has furloughed an undisclosed number of nurses, according to The Milford Daily News.

April 20

1. Citing the financial burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Carthage (N.Y.) Area Hospital has furloughed 20 percent of its staff, according to local news station WWNY TV. About 83 staff members are affected. Furloughed employees with health insurance can still receive those benefits.

2. Sioux Falls, Idaho-based Avera Health will furlough 650 workers due to the suspension of elective procedures and resulting revenue loss, according to The Grand Forks Herald. Avera will also cut pay for 1,500 employees. The health system has 19,000 employees across a five-state region.

3. St. Lawrence Health System, a three-hospital system in Potsdam, N.Y., plans to furlough at least 400 workers to help offset the revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to North Country Now. Due to a drop in patient volume due to the suspension of elective procedures, the system is projecting a cash flow decrease of $10 million in the next 30 days. The health system’s website says it has more than 2,025 employees.

4. Rapid City, S.D.-based Monument Health will place 200 employees on furlough, according to KOTA TV. The health system said that it implemented furloughs to help preserve protective gear and save costs after suspending elective surgeries. The furloughs, which are effective April 25, affect 4 percent of Monument Health’s workforce.

5. In an effort to offset a revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital has furloughed 52 workers, according to WKBW.

6. Elizabethtown (N.Y.) Community Hospital has furloughed 25 staff members after experiencing a revenue cut of 50 percent due to the suspension of elective procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

7. Manatee Memorial Hospital, a safety-net facility in Bradenton, Fla., has furloughed a portion of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bradenton.com. Affected employees will be able to retain health and life insurance. It is unclear how many staff members are affected or how long the furlough will last.

8. Tucson (Ariz.) Medical Center has furloughed some of its staff to help offset a revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Tucson.com. The health system said it is estimating a revenue loss of $20 million in April alone.

9. Tucson, Ariz.-based Carondelet Health Network has implemented furloughs across the system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Tucson.com.

10. Gillette, Wyo.-based Campbell County Health has furloughed an undisclosed number of employees, according to The Gillette News Record. Affected employees are eligible to retain their health insurance and are expected to return to work within six to 12 weeks, according to the report.

April 17

1. Citing declines in revenue and patient volume due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Murray (Ky.) Calloway County Hospital plans to implement furloughs in all departments, according to local news station WPSD. The hospital said the reductions will affect about 15 percent to 30 percent of staff in each department, according to the report.

2. Lockport, N.Y.-based Eastern Niagara Hospital will furlough 60 employees in response to the suspension of elective procedures due to the pandemic, according to Buffalo, N.Y., ABC affiliate WKBW. The furloughs affect union and nonunion employees.

3. Lowville, N.Y.-based Lewis County Health System is temporarily placing 14 percent of its workforce on unpaid leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WWYN. The health system will ask for volunteers before furloughs will be mandated based on seniority. Furloughs are expected to last eight weeks.

4. Citing a financial hit from the suspension of elective procedures, Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Healthcare is furloughing a portion of its staff, according to 9&10 News. Ed Ness, president and CEO of Munson Healthcare, told the CBS affiliate that the health system is projected to lose $7 million to $10 million a month.

5. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, based in Chicago, has furloughed about 20 percent of its staff through the end of April, according to the Chicago Tribune. Those staff members are still receiving pay and healthcare benefits. The hospital said it is losing about $10 million a week because it suspended elective surgeries and outpatient visits and is seeing a drop in inpatient visits.

6. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maywood, Ill.-based Loyola Medicine has furloughed primarily nonclinical staff and reduced hours for other employees, according to the Chicago Tribune. Furloughed workers are still receiving healthcare benefits.

“We hope to bring back as many furloughed employees as we can, when possible,” Loyola told the newspaper.

7. Citing a revenue drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, Somerset, Ky.-based Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital has 17 percent of its workforce on furlough, according to the Commonwealth Journal. Affected employees will continue to receive health insurance and 25 percent of their wages.

8. Aiken (S.C.) Regional Medical Centers will furlough 54 employees in an effort to offset revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WJBF. Affected employees will be eligible for unemployment.

9. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations, Boston-based Fenway Health will furlough a portion of its staff this week, according to The Rainbow Times.

“This is not something we are doing lightly. But Fenway Health is not immune to the economic forces affecting every health care system in the state in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis,” Fenway Health CEO Ellen LaPointe, told the publication. “These measures are temporary.”

10. El Paso, Texas-based Hospitals of Providence will furlough a portion of its staff to help offset a drop in patient volume, according to El Paso Times. Hospitals of Providence said that less than 3 percent of staff would be affected.

11. Jacksboro, Texas-based Faith Community Health System has furloughed, cut hours or reassigned about 75 percent of its staff due to the suspension of elective procedures, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“Where larger hospitals might have the ability to sustain that loss of revenue, rural hospitals just don’t. It has hit us faster and harder,” Faith Community CEO Frank Beaman told the publication.

April 16

1. Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, N.Y., will furlough 10 percent of its 2,400 employee workforce due to a revenue loss stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NNY360. The medical center expects the furloughs to last about three months.

2. In an effort to ensure the long-term financial stability of the organization, DuBois, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Healthcare has furloughed or laid off 600 employees, according to The Progress News. About 60 percent of the 600 affected staff were furloughed. The health system has seen its revenue dip about 40 percent due to the suspension of elective procedures.

3. New Bedford, N.H.-based SolutionHealth, which includes Manchester, N.H.-based Elliot Hospital System and Nashua-based Southern New Hampshire Health, plans to furlough 650 staff members to offset a revenue hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Union Leader.

4. Titus Regional Medical Center, a 108-bed facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas, has furloughed about 10 percent of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Texas Tribune. It has about 800 employees. Titus said it expects the virus to cause a financial hit of $3.3 million, or about 14 days of cash.

5. Citing a financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Chillicothe, Ohio-based Adena Health System has furloughed 500 staff members, according to WBNS, a CBS affiliate. The health system is projecting that it will have a deficit of more than $50 million through 2020 due to the suspension of elective procedures.

6. Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health is furloughing 360 employees in an effort to cut costs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Beacon Journal. Summa Health has about 7,200 employees. The furloughs started this week. It is unclear when they will end.

7. Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center has furloughed 50 workers in administrative and support positions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Palm Beach Post. The furloughs affect 2.7 percent of the hospital’s 1,883 employees and are expected to last through the peak of the pandemic.

8. Citing a patient volume and revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, Paragould-based Arkansas Methodist Medical Center plans to furlough a portion of its staff starting April 20, according to local news station KAIT8.

9. Dunn, N.C.-based Harnett Health has furloughed 80 staff members due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, according to My Daily Record.

“We want to reassure our community that we are still here and able to provide care whenever they may need us,” Harnett Health President Cory Hess told the publication. “The restructuring is a direct result of having to temporarily shut down some of our services to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

10. Citing a revenue dip due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pocatello, Idaho-based Portneuf Medical Center will furlough and lay off a portion of its staff, according to the Idaho State Journal. It is unclear how many staff members were furloughed and laid off. The furloughs are expected to last 90 days, but some employees may be called back earlier.

“To balance the resources needed to care for our sickest patients against the economic impact of postponed visits and the decline in surgeries, we have made some difficult workforce decisions,” a spokesperson for Portneuf Medical Center told the publication.

11. San Francisco-based Dignity Health has furloughed a portion of its nonclinical staff, Laurie Harting, Dignity’s CEO for the Greater Sacramento region, told the Sacramento Business Journal. The number of affected employees was not disclosed.

12. While Sacramento-based Sutter Health has created a labor pool to redeploy and reassign employees, some who are unable to be reassigned have been furloughed, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. Sutter has offered these affected employees 80 hours of “disaster pay” to account for hours lost and is creating a relief fund for employees. It is unclear how many employees are receiving the disaster pay. The health system has not laid off employees.

April 15

1. Citing a decline in elective surgeries and other nonemergent procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has furloughed about 10 percent of its workforce of more than 113,000. Affected employees include those in administrative support roles, corporate office jobs and elective care. Earlier in April, Tenet said it planned to furlough 500 employees, but the health system said it had to raise the number of furloughs after the costly government-mandated suspension of elective procedures.

2. Citing the suspension of elective procedures, Detroit Medical Center is furloughing 480 employees who are not involved in treating COVID-19 patients or other critical patient care, according to Fox Detroit.

3. Lovelace Health System, based in Albuquerque, N.M., plans to furlough or cut hours of about 630 people, according to The Albuquerque Journal. The temporary workforce reduction affects about 15 percent of the health system’s 4,239 employees.

4. Citing a revenue drop of 60 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rutland City, Vt.-based Rutland Regional Health System has furloughed 150 employees, according to WCAX. The hospital has about 1,200 employees total.

5. Philadelphia-based Einstein Healthcare Network plans to move forward with furloughs due to a significant decline in physician practice and outpatient volume, according to WHYY. Health system officials said they project a $50 million to $60 million hit in 2020. Internal documents revealed that 70 percent of the health system’s expenses are staff related. Einstein Healthcare department heads were instructed to choose which employees to furlough this week.

6. Abbeville (S.C.) Area Medical Center has furloughed or cut hours of 75 employees for at least two months, according to the Index-Journal. Both clinical and nonclinical staff are affected.

“Like many hospital systems across the state and nation, the COVID-19 pandemic has created financial challenges for Abbeville Area Medical Center,” Dean Turner, Abbeville Area Medical Center’s CEO, told the publication. “This was a difficult decision but one that was necessary not only to ensure that our hospital can continue to serve patients, but also to ensure that our employees have jobs to come back to in the next six to eight weeks, if not sooner.”

7. Citing a financial toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, Roanoke, Va.-based Carilion Clinic plans to furlough a portion of its staff, CEO Nancy Agee announced in a video to employees. The number of affected employees has yet to be determined.

8. Jonesboro, Ark.-based St. Bernards Healthcare has furloughed 50 employees due to a significant decline in patient volume and revenue, according to Arkansas Business. The health system said that it is working to help furloughed staff “receive every benefit possible.”

9. In an effort to conserve cash and ensure the future financial stability of the organization, Sedalia, Mo.-based Bothwell Regional Health Center has furloughed 50 staff members, according to KSIS Radio. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a 43 percent reduction in revenue, the hospital said.

10. Queensbury, N.Y.-based Hudson Headwaters Health Network has furloughed 50 employees due to the revenue hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to North Country Public Radio.

11. Decatur, Ill.-based HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital is asking employees to take voluntary furloughs due to a decline in patient volume from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to WCIA.

12. Fayetteville, Ark.-based Washington Regional Medical Center is furloughing a portion of its staff to help offset revenue losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KNWA, a Fox affiliate. The number of furloughs has yet to be determined.

13. In an effort to offset some of the financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount Clemens, Mich.-based McLaren Macomb Hospital plans to furlough up to 20 nurses, according to Detroit News.

April 14

1. Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Healthcare will furlough 600 employees in an effort to help offset the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NBC Montana. The health system expects to incur a revenue loss of $16 million per month due to the suspension of elective procedures.

“The compounding effect of the loss of patient volumes, cancellation of elective surgeries, and the closure of entire service lines has had a tremendous financial impact on KRH,” Craig Lambrecht, MD, Kalispell Regional president and CEO, told the publication. “Cost cutting efforts have been underway but unfortunately those efforts alone cannot remedy the significance of these losses.”

2. UT Health East Texas in Tyler has furloughed or reduced hours of about 10 percent of its staff due to a decline in patient volume stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KLTV. The furloughs will last about 90 days, but some employees may be called back earlier. Employees will still have access to health insurance and paid time off benefits.

3. Manchester, N.H.-based Catholic Medical Center has furloughed 700 employees after canceling elective procedures to save staff and supplies for COVID-19 patients, according to The Union Leader. The hospital said it is losing about half of its typical monthly revenue. Furloughed workers can use paid time off.

4. Citing a revenue loss tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, Glens Falls (N.Y.) Hospital furloughed 337 workers, according to The Glens Falls Post-Star. Affected employees work in nonclinical roles.

5. Weymouth, Mass.-based South Shore Health has placed 219 employees on furlough in an effort to counter some of the financial strain caused by COVID-19, according to The Patriot Ledger. The health system has more than 5,600 employees. The health system said it is looking to reassign some of the workers to new roles.

6. Las Cruces, N.M.-based Memorial Medical Center has furloughed 125 employees, according to The Las Cruces Sun News. The furloughs affected nearly all departments and will last 60 days. The employees will earn partial pay and will still retain health benefits.

7. Minneapolis-based Allina Health said that employees in nonclinical and indirect patient care roles must take at least one mandatory furlough in a 30-day period, according to SW News Media. The mandatory unpaid furlough will be one week in duration. Employees can use paid time off to cover the mandatory furlough.

“Not unlike other health care systems in Minnesota and across the nation, these changes have created significant financial pressures for Allina Health,” the health system said in a news release.

8. Irving, Texas-based Christus Health implemented furloughs for a portion of its staff, according to KLTV. The health system said employees will retain their healthcare benefits and are allowed to take paid time off. The system didn’t disclose how many employees will be affected.

9. In an effort to help offset an expected revenue loss of $6 million per month, Derby, Conn.-based Griffin Hospital is furloughing 99 employees, according to The New Haven Register. The furloughed employees work in nonclinical roles.

10. Las Cruces, N.M.-based MountainView Regional Medical Center has placed 67 employees on furlough, according to The Las Cruces Sun News. The medical center has furloughed employees from departments where services have been suspended during the pandemic.

11. Nacogdoches (Texas) Memorial Hospital has furloughed a portion of its staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Lufkin Daily News. The hospital said it has been stockpiling supplies for an anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients, which has “resulted in extraordinary expenses piling up at exactly the same time that we’ve intentionally driven volumes down by more than 50 percent.”

April 13

1. Citing a revenue drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Decatur (Ala.) Morgan Hospital is furloughing about 10 percent of its staff, 100 workers, according to The Decatur Daily.

2. Springfield, Mo.-based CoxHealth has furloughed 283 employees due to the suspension of elective procedures, according to The Springfield News-Leader. The hospital said it is working to get some of the furloughed employees redeployed to other positions in the health system.

3. Canton, Ohio-based Aultman Health will furlough about 400 employees, according to The Canton Rep. The majority of furloughed employees work in nonclinical roles, low-volume service areas or can’t be redeployed to care settings.

4. Evangelical Community Hospital, based in Lewisburg, Pa., has placed 400 workers on a furlough, according to The Williamsport Sun-Gazette. The hospital employs about 1,900 workers.

“Furloughs were across the board,” Deanna Hollenbach, a Evangelical Community Hospital spokesperson, told The Sun-Gazette.

5. Danville, Ky.-based Ephraim McDowell Health plans to furlough 20 percent of its 1,700-employee workforce, according to The Advocate Messenger. The hospital system said that it needed to “take immediate steps to ensure that we can sustain our operations after the COVID-19 crisis ends,” according to a statement obtained by the publication.

6. Starting April 13, Farmington, N.M.-based San Juan Regional Medical Center is furloughing a portion of its staff, according to The Farmington Daily Times. The furloughs will affect employees in elective care and in nonclinical roles.

7. Citing a revenue loss of 50 percent, Elmeria, N.Y.-based Arnot Health plans to furlough a portion of its staff to shore up finances, according to MyTwinTiers.com. Affected employees will be notified by April 17.

“The subsequent reductions in patient revenue have made it impossible for Arnot Health to afford the cost of current staffing levels in all but the most essential areas at this time,” the hospital said in a news release.

8. Although Mayo Clinic previously said it would protect full pay and benefits through April 28, after that date the system now says it will furlough some staff and implement pay cuts to address significant reductions in revenues. The Rochester, Minn.-based system said it projects a $900 million shortfall, even with the furloughs and pay cuts. On April 22, Mayo Clinic said the furloughs and reduced hours will impact about 30,000 staff members. The system also said it expects to incur $3 billion in losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs or reduced hours affect about 42 percent of Mayo Clinic’s 70,000 employees across its campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

9. Anderson, S.C.-based AnMed Health will begin implementing furloughs April 19, according to WWYF. The furloughs are expected to last about three months. There was no specific number of furloughs announced, but officials said both clinical and nonclinical employees will be affected.

10. Spartanburg (S.C.) Regional Healthcare System has furloughed some of its staff, according to WWYF. The health system has set up a COVID-19 fund to support affected staff.

11. La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System has furloughed some of its staff, according to The La Crosse Tribune. Gundersen officials said that its locations have experienced a 40 percent to 80 percent decrease in business operations in the last few weeks due to the suspension of nonemergent procedures and clinic visits.

“These are temporary actions,” Gundersen CEO Scott Rathgaber, MD, told the publication. “We plan to bring staff back to fully serve the needs of our patients and communities when our procedures and appointments can safely return to normal operations.”

12. Grays Harbor Community Hospital, based in Aberdeen, Wash., has implemented furloughs after the system saw a 45 percent drop in outpatient procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to KXRO. The hospital said it was also incurring more costs to procure equipment for staff. The furloughs will begin April 13 and last 90 days.

13. Citing millions of dollars in lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bennington-based Southwestern Vermont Health Care is furloughing a portion of its workforce, according to The Bennington Banner. The health system expects to furlough about 100 of its 1,400 workers and said it will reassess the furloughs every two weeks.

14. Putnam, Conn.-based Day Kimball Healthcare has furloughed workers due to a drop in patient volume and revenue, according to NBC Connecticut.

April 10

1. Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network has furloughed about 900 employees who work at its physician practices, according to The Morning Call. The email obtained by the publication stated that furloughed workers can return to work after in-person patient visits return to normal levels.

2. Halifax Health, based in Daytona Beach, Fla, has placed 300 staff members on a mandatory four-month furlough, according to The Daytona Beach News Journal. The news comes just nine days after the system asked for volunteers to take furloughs. The health system is also mandating that nonclinical staff not included in the furlough take one day off per week.

3. Citing financial pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health has issued temporary layoffs for 221 employees, according to NBC San Diego. The furloughs will last 21 days and may be extended. Palomar Health said it is facing a significant revenue decline and incurred more costs to procure equipment.

4. Citing a 60 percent reduction in revenue in the last two weeks due to the pandemic, Marshall, Mich.-based Oaklawn Hospital has temporarily laid off 200 employees, according to local news station WWMT. The temporary layoffs affect about 17 percent of its 1,150 employees.

5. More than half of the employees at Gold Beach, Ore.-based Curry Health Network will be furloughed, laid off or have hours cut, according to Oregon Live. The hospital network said that 192 employees will be affected. At the beginning of March the network employed 340. The system said the state’s ban on elective procedures to free up capacity and supplies for COVID-19 patients cut into its revenue stream, according to the report.

6. Baptist Health, an eight-hospital system based in Louisville, Ky., has implemented temporary unpaid furloughs for employees in jobs that do not support caregivers or are not critical to treating COVID-19 patients. The health system did not disclose the number of furloughed employees.

“Our intent is to return to normal operations as soon as possible, and begin calling back employees. This is just a temporary measure,” said Baptist Health CEO Gerard Colman.

7. Batesville, Ark.-based White River Health System has furloughed some employees for 30 days due to a decrease in patient volume, according to local news station KARK. It is unclear how many employees were placed on furlough, but they are expected to be temporary.

8. Citing volume declines of more than 50 percent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgetown, S.C.-based Tidelands Health has furloughed an undisclosed number of staff, according to WPDE, an ABC affiliate.

9. Gardener, Mass.-based Heywood Healthcare has furloughed an undisclosed number of staff in units and facilities that were closed in preparation for a surge of coronavirus patients, according to The Gardener News. The first furlough will last four weeks and will mainly affect staff that work in outpatient settings.

“We are actually seeing a $5 million drop in overall revenue for our organization, so we are going to really work on staffing, and we are going to implement a variety of things today, including furloughs — both full furloughs for staff and partial furloughs — continuing to use low activity days, some very limited layoffs, reducing scheduled hours, changing our on-call arrangements, restructuring job positions, reducing the contracted services we have, as we try to tackle and lower our expenses,” Win Brown, president and CEO of Heywood Healthcare, told the publication.

10. Brewer, Maine -based Northern Light Health is asking its staff to volunteer to take furloughs, according to CentralMaine.com. The health system said it has no plans to conduct involuntary furloughs.

April 9

1. Citing severe patient volume disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health plans to furlough at least 1,300 workers, cut pay for some senior leaders and suspend retirement contributions. Ballad is projecting a cash flow drop of $150 million in the next 90 days due to the suspension of elective procedures.

2. Lewiston-based Central Maine Healthcare will furlough 330 employees to help offset the revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bangor Daily News. The furloughs affect about 10 percent of its workforce.

“Furloughs like this are one way that we can adjust and manage the balance sheet appropriately. It also allows us to do that without having to sacrifice jobs permanently, without having to end the provision of care,” Kate Carlisle, director of public relations and community affairs for Central Maine Healthcare, told the publication.

3. Oswego (N.Y.) Health will furlough 25 percent of its workforce next week, according to Syracuse.com. Health system officials said that it has been losing about $180,000 per day since the beginning of March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Oswego Health said the furloughs should last about 10 to 12 weeks.

4. Citing a revenue and patient volume dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hopkinsville, Ky.-based Jenny Stuart Health has furloughed 248 staff members, according to Kentucky New Era. The health system has about 1,000 employees.

“This is an incredibly difficult time for our health system, and this is not a decision we made lightly. I regret the immediate personal impact on these employees and their families,” Jennie Stuart Health CEO Eric Lee told the publication.

5. Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic will furlough employees who are not involved in preparing for the anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients, according to local news station WEAU. The furloughs are expected to be temporary, and staff can be recalled at any point in time to help manage the surge, according to the report.

6. Due to the suspension of elective procedures, Ashtabula (Ohio) County Medical Center is furloughing a portion of its workforce, according to the Star Beacon. To reduce the number of employees affected by the furlough, the hospital is training some employees to support different clinical departments in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 patients.

7. University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus in Topeka is laying off 29 employees and furloughing 235, according to The Topeka Capital Journal. The furloughs and layoffs are an effort to offset the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The furloughs affect about 17 percent of the hospital’s staff.

8. Holyoke, Colo.-based Melissa Memorial Hospital is placing 19 employees on furlough for about three months, according to The Holyoke Enterprise. Furloughed employees are expected to return to work on July 26. The hospital said the decision was made because revenue was down due to the suspension of elective procedures.

9. Mad River Community Hospital, a 78-bed hospital in Arcata, Calif., is placing some employees on a full or partial furlough, according to Lost Coast Outpost. Hospital officials said the move is “essential” to ensure its doors remain open after the pandemic.

10. Citing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oklahoma City-based Integris Health plans to furlough employees not involved in direct patient care, according to News 9. The furloughs are expected to be temporary. Affected employees will still receive health insurance benefits.

11. Abilene (Texas) Regional Medical Center has placed a small number of employees on furlough, according to KTXS, an ABC affiliate. Affected employees work in areas where services have been curtailed or suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 8

1. MUSC Health, an eight-hospital system based in Charleston, S.C., said it would temporarily lay off 900 employees, or 5 percent of its workforce, to offset the financial hit caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary layoffs, which do not affect nonclinical workers, were effective April 7.

2. Nonclinical employees at Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare will be subject to mandatory paid time off or will be furloughed, the health system said April 7. The health system said the furloughs are necessary to help offset a revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is important for the communities OSF has been called to serve for more than 142 years that we stabilize our financial position and protect our culture so we can continue to serve those communities, and our Mission Partners and their families in Illinois and Michigan,” said Mike Allen, CFO of OSF HealthCare. “Our priority remains equipping our frontlines with the resources they need to ensure the continuation of essential care, while protecting those providing that care.”

3. Citing a revenue and patient volume reduction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Holyoke, Mass.-based Valley Health System has furloughed 225 employees, according to Western Mass News. The furloughs affect about 11 percent of its workforce.

4. Odessa (Texas) Regional Medical Center has furloughed 60 employees to help offset a revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS 7 reports. Affected employees will still receive insurance and are expected to be called back to work.

5. Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas, has furloughed 30 staff members after the facility was ordered to suspend the lucrative elective procedures to save resources and staff to treat COVID-19 patients, according to CBS 7. The hospital has reassigned hospital workers to different areas, but Medical Center Hospital CEO Russell Tippin told the publication that it has been difficult.

“We’re in such a regulated industry that it’s hard,” Mr. Tippin told CBS 7. “You can’t take a pharmacist and put them in radiology. And you can’t take a radiologist and put them in pharmacy.”

6. In an effort to ease the financial damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amarillo, Texas-based BSA Hospital plans to furlough some of its employees for up to 90 days, according to ABC 7 Amarillo.

7. Magnolia (Ark.) Regional Medical Center has furloughed an undisclosed number of nonclinical staff, including administrative and clerical workers, according to The Magnolia Banner News. The furloughs are expected to last at least two months. Affected staff will remain on the MRMC roster and maintain insurance, according to the report.

8. Caribou, Maine-based Cary Medical Center has furloughed a number of employees due to a drop in patient volume and revenue as a result of preparing for a COVID-19 patient surge, according to The Bangor Daily News. A majority of the furloughs affect support staff for physicians, according to the report.

9. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hartford, Conn.-based Trinity Health of New England plans to furlough an undisclosed number of employees, according to The Hartford Courant. The majority of the furloughs will affect nonclinical workers.

“This will enable us to focus our resources on the functions directly related to essential COVID-19 patient care needs that we anticipate, while protecting people and helping prevent the spread of the disease,” Trinity Health of New England said in a statement to The Hartford Courant.

April 7

1. Tulsa, Okla.-based HillCrest HealthCare System will furlough 600 employees for up to 90 days, according to local news station KRMG. The furloughs affect about 9 percent of staff and are a result of a decline in routine and elective procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Thomas Health System in South Charleston, W.Va., plans to furlough “less than 500” employees starting this week, according to the West Virginia Gazette Mail. In announcing the furloughs, the health system cited the suspension of nonemergent procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. Citing a decrease in patient volume and revenue due to the pandemic, Cookeville (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center has furloughed 400 employees, according to Fox 17 News.

“The pandemic created by COVID-19 has had a devastating impact not only in our community and state but across our entire country and the world that has required each of us to make sacrifices,” the hospital said in a statement to Fox 17 News.

4. Cape Fear Valley Health, based in Fayetteville, N.C., plans to furlough an additional 350 employees, according to The Fayetteville Observer. The health system had already furloughed about 300 employees on March 27. The health system said since the first round of furloughs, its inpatient occupancy has dropped to 60 percent.

5. Citing a revenue and patient volume drop from the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Court House, Ohio-based Fayette County Memorial Hospital has furloughed 71 of its 352 employees, according to radio station WKKJ. The furloughs are expected to last for 30 days.

6. M Health Fairview, a 10-hospital system in Minneapolis, is asking physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in some clinics to volunteer to take a week of unpaid leave as a furlough, according to The Star Tribune.The system is taking volunteers for one-week physician furloughs through May 3. Those who volunteer will still receive benefits.

7. Mountain Home, Ark.-based Baxter Regional Medical Center plans to furlough an undisclosed number of employees to ease the financial hit from a decrease in volume and increased costs to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to local news station KTLO. The furloughs are expected to be temporary. The hospital will reevaluate if additional measures are needed or if employees can return after four weeks.

8. Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System plans to furlough an undisclosed number of employees after suspending elective procedures to prepare for the anticipated surge in COVID-19 patients, according to FourStatesHomepage.com

9. Lawrence (La.) General Hospital has placed 160 staff members on a four-week furlough, according to The Eagle Tribune. Most of the furloughs, which are expected to be temporary, affect nonclinical workers. Lawrence General has about 2,000 employees.

10. Froedtert Health has furloughed some workers, according to local news station Fox 6, which spoke to furloughed nurses from the Wauwatosa, Wis.-based system on the condition of anonymity.

April 6

1. Huntington, W.Va.-based Mountain Health Network furloughed 550 employees and cut the hours of 450, according to local news station WSAZ. The furloughs are a result of the financial and resource strain prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. LRGHealthcare, based in Laconia, N.H., plans to furlough 600 employees for up to four months to cope with the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Laconia Daily Sun. Affected employees will keep their medical insurance and can receive unemployment compensation.

3. Citing a 35 percent reduction in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia, Tenn.-based Maury Regional Health will furlough 340 employees this week, according to The Columbia Daily Herald. Maury Regional Health employs more than 3,000.

“We are experiencing unprecedented events as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves. After much deliberation, we were forced to make the difficult decision to furlough employees in the face of declining volumes and revenue. We plan to begin calling back employees as patient volumes normalize,” Maury Regional CEO Alan Watson told the Daily Herald.

4. Franklin, Tenn.-based Williamson Medical Center will furlough 200 employees due to a loss in revenue attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and government mandates to postpone elective procedures, according to The Tenneseean. The furloughs, which began taking place April 1, are expected to be temporary.

5. Coos Bay, Ore.-based North Bend Medical Center has furloughed 130 employees to prepare for the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to TheWorldLink.com. The medical center is still providing insurance to the furloughed workers.

6. Citing a $16 million revenue loss in March due to the postponement of elective procedures, Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital will furlough an undisclosed number of employees, according to local news station WUSF. The hospital, which has 6,400 employees, expects to lose even more revenue in April and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

7. Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health will furlough an undisclosed number of employees due to an anticipated financial hit from Ohio’s interim ban on nonessential surgeries, according to The Dayton Business Journal. The furloughs will affect employees that are not providing patient care.

8. Due to a loss in revenue and patient volume, Conway (S.C.) Medical Center plans to furlough about 100 employees who are not frontline care providers, according to WMBF. The hospital said the mandate on suspending elective procedures caused the revenue and volume drop.

April 3

1. Burlington, Mass.-based Wellforce, which includes four community hospitals, one academic medical center and a children’s hospital, has furloughed 719 workers, according to the Boston Business Journal. The affected employees will be furloughed for at least 90 days to help the system deal with the drastic volume decrease from suspending elective procedures. In addition, 1,236 employees will have their hours and pay reduced, according to the report.

2. Southbridge, Mass.-based Harrington Healthcare has furloughed 131 employees across its network this week, according to MassLive. About 20 of the 131 affected employees were “partially furloughed,” meaning their hours were significantly reduced, according to the report. Chris Canniff, the company’s vice president of administration and human resources, said the provider has seen a 50 percent decline in patient volume amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Furloughed employees will not be paid for four weeks.

3. Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center said it has seen a 30 percent decline in revenue since the COVID-19 pandemic started and Gov. Jay Inslee ordered hospitals to suspend elective procedures. As a result, the system is furloughing an undisclosed number of employees, according to local station K5 News. Most of the affected employees are in nonclinical roles.

“We rely substantially on outpatient revenue to ensure our financial viability,” wrote medical center executives in an internal memo to Virginia Mason leaders obtained by K5 News. “This is an unprecedented time and it calls for drastic measures.”

4. Citing drastic revenue decreases and increased expenses, Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel Health System will furlough nonclinical staff, according to ABC 6. The health system said fewer than 500 employees will be affected. The system employs more than 10,000. In addition to the furloughs, the health system is implementing pay cuts for executives and physicians, according to the report.

5. Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare has furloughed some of its workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NJ.com. In addition, the system has asked staff members, including nurses and physicians, to voluntarily take a furlough or a reduction in their hours, according to Press of Atlantic City. The staffing changes began taking place March 30. The changes are considered temporary, and affected employees will keep their benefits.

6. Citing a drop in patient revenue due to government mandates to help the COVID-19 pandemic, Dayton, Ohio-based Kettering Health Network is placing some of its employees on furlough, according to the Dayton Business Journal.

7. New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health will furlough some staff not actively involved in patient care efforts because the health system is absorbing a deep revenue hit, according to Southcoast Today. The health system will pay a portion of furloughed employees’ insurance premiums through June 30.

April 2

1. Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health plans to furlough 2,500 employees. The system made the decision to help offset the financial hit from COVID-19. Most of the affected employees are in nonclinical roles.

2. Boston Medical Center is furloughing 700 staff members, or 10 percent of its workforce, due to financial losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Kate Walsh, CEO of Boston Medical Center, told The Globe that the hospital has lost about $5 million in revenue per week, and that the furloughs will help save the system about $1 million per week.

3. Citing a revenue hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health will furlough 700 employees and freeze wages of all nonclinical personnel. The furloughs are expected to begin next week and last 30 to 90 days, depending on how long the pandemic lasts, according to Bon Secours Mercy Health CEO John Starcher. Bon Secours Mercy Health estimates it will see an operating loss of at least $100 million per month while the pandemic lasts.

4. Citing a severe disruption in services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health has placed about 500 nonclinical staff on administrative leave.

5. Hartford-based Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is furloughing 400 employees across its system due to the expected financial hit from COVID-19, according to The Hartford Courant. The system said its patient volume has been cut in half due to halting elective procedures. Furloughed employees are mainly nonclinical workers, and are expected to return to work in early June, or when elective procedures can resume.

6. Clay County Medical Center, a 25-bed hospital in Clay Center, Kan., has furloughed 25 percent of its staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Clay Center Dispatch. It has about 300 employees, according to its website.

7. Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tenn., will temporarily furlough 200 employees to sustain its financial resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

8. Dallas-based Steward Health Care is informing employees to expect furloughs at its facilities across the U.S. as the system works to overcome the “seismic shock” of the COVID-19 pandemic. The health system said it has started a temporary furlough program for some employees of its hospitals in nine states. Most affected staff work in nonclinical jobs.

9. Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital System, faced with expenses and a loss of revenue due to the novel coronavirus, has implemented a cost reduction plan that includes furloughs, according to AL.com. Huntsville Hospital said April 9 that it had to furlough or cut hours for 2,000 employees.

10. Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph Health plans to furlough an undisclosed number of workers as it prepares to deal with an “unprecedented fiscal fallout” from the COVID-19 pandemic, Syracuse.com reports. St. Joseph Health will also cut pay for senior management.

11. Baptist Health in Little Rock, Ark., has started furloughing an undisclosed number of employees this week to address an expected revenue loss from the pandemic.

12. Little Rock-based Arkansas Heart Hospital has furloughed workers due to the interruption of normal hospital operations.

March 27 to April 1

1. Citing the financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health said it will furlough an undisclosed number of clinical, corporate and administrative workers. On April 9, Prisma Health executives told legislators that it was forced to furlough or cut hours for 3,900 of its 30,000 person workforce, according to The State.

2. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System said it is implementing a cost-reduction plan that includes furloughs and pay reductions for leadership. The moves were prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Administrative employees also are affected by the furlough.

3. Appalachian Regional Healthcare, a 13-hospital system in Lexington, Ky., will furlough about 500 employees due to a sharp reduction in business and revenue. In addition to the financial aspect, Appalachian Regional said its decision was to protect employees not involved in direct patient care from contracting the novel virus and ensure that the health system has enough supplies to treat the anticipated surge of COVID-19 patients.

4. Cleveland-based St. Vincent Charity Medical Center has furloughed about 70 employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Affected employees include nurses, surgical assistants, clerical and other support staff.

5. Morehead, Ky.-based St. Claire HealthCare announced it will furlough 300 employees who are not involved in direct patient care to ensure it can sustain clinical operations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

6. Astoria, Ore.-based Columbia Memorial Hospital has furloughed 90 of its 740 employees after the facility scaled back nonemergent procedures to concentrate on the coronavirus.

7. Citing the spreading and unforgiving demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canton, Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center has furloughed workers. The move came shortly after the state ordered hospitals to suspend elective surgeries and procedures to free up capacity and supplies to treat COVID-19 patients.The number of staff affected was not disclosed.

8. Meadville (Pa.) Medical Center has furloughed more than 225 employees to ensure the hospital’s financial stability. The hospital said the furlough is expected to last through April 5, but warned an extension is possible if the pandemic continues to affect business operations and revenue.

9. To help the system survive the economic challenges linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rockford, Ill.-based Mercyhealth has furloughed an undisclosed number of employees who are not providing direct patient care.

10. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewisburg, Pa.-based Evangelical Community Hospital has furloughed a “significant” number of employees who are not involved in direct patient care.

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HENRY KOTULA

A Healthcare Leadership Blog

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