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August 28, 2009
WakeMed Health & Hospitals plans to cut 85 jobs as part of a cost-cutting move in the face of a $35 million drop in government reimbursements.
WakeMed CEO Bill Atkinson sent out an e-mail to all employees Friday informing them of the cuts, which amount to about 1 percent of WakeMed’s base of 7,576 employees. Affected employees will be notified before Sept. 3.
Atkinson said the hospital system expects to receive $35 million less in federal and state reimbursement in fiscal 2010.
“This is the real world impact on WakeMed from the state and nation’s budget problems,” Atkinson said in the e-mail.
The employee cuts are in addition to other expense reduction moves, including cuts in department budgets and drops in spending on marketing, advertising and non-clinical equipment, he said.
“Some of the offset, however, inevitably must come from the steps we are taking today to slightly reduce our workforce numbers,” Atkinson said.
About a third of the reductions will come from vice presidents, directors and managers; no staff nurses are being displaced, he said. The affected employees can apply for other jobs at WakeMed.
Other employee benefits may also be on the line. Atkinson said WakeMed is reviewing all benefit programs and in particular mentioned the match to employees’ retirement payments.
“Last year we were able to avoid, for example, having to temporarily suspend the match to our retirement program,” Atkinson said. “This year, that may not be possible. But we are still working to find a solution.”
A final budget that will detail any such moves will be approved and in place before the start of WakeMed’s fiscal year beginning in October, he said.
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