Becker's Hospital Review

11 CFO / FINANCE M Health Fairview to cut 500 jobs, consider hospital closures amid $80M shortfall By Alia Paavola M inneapolis-based M Health Fair- view announced plans last fall to cut about 500 jobs to address a looming budget crisis, according to the Star Tribune. e system also considered scaling back or ending services at some hospitals. M Health Fairview, a newly merged and branded system formed by Minneapo- lis-based Fairview Health Services, Universi- ty of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Physicians, is expected to have an $80 mil- lion shortfall in 2020. e layoffs, disclosed Nov. 22, 2019, in internal memos, are one of several strategies that emerged from a five-week series of "war room" sessions to address the financial issues at the newly created organization. e joint clinical agreement between the three orga- nizations was announced in September 2018 and was finalized Jan. 1, 2019. "e decision by Fairview to lay off em- ployees is incredibly difficult," University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel wrote in an internal memo obtained by the Star Tribune. "ere are sound financial reasons why this action is necessary, but it does not lessen the pain employees will feel or the concern that patients may have due to this news." e system also considered reducing opera- tions at Bethesda long-term care hospital in St. Paul, Minn., and closing St. Joseph's Hos- pital in St. Paul, according to the report. Closing or reorganizing clinics was also on the table, the report said. e layoffs are expected to occur early this year. e system hopes to achieve most of the job cuts by closing open positions instead of cutting staff. n UPMC to close hospital in 2020 By Ayla Ellison P ittsburgh-based UPMC will close its hospital in Sunbury, Pa., on March 31, 2020, according to The Daily Item. The health system cited dwindling patient volume as one of the reasons it is closing UPMC Susquehanna Sunbury. "This decision was made with careful consideration and analysis of the use of hospital services in the re- gion," UPMC Susquehanna President Steven John- son said, according to The Daily Item. "According to market data, patients are utilizing facilities other than UPMC Susquehanna Sunbury for their care. UPMC must prudently examine opportunities to integrate and consolidate functions balanced against the needs of the community." The hospital, previously named Sunbury Community Hospital, has been open for nearly 125 years. Jody Ocker, Sunbury city administrator, said she's con- cerned local residents won't have access to care after the hospital closes. "I'm very concerned about our residents' access to care," she told TV station WNEP. "We have people that are get- ting around on their electric scooters and their bicycles. They don't have access to reliable transportation." About 150 people will lose their jobs when UPMC Susquehanna Sunbury closes, according to WNEP. UPMC said it will try to relocate employees to other hospitals in the area. n 'We will not have — or do we need — a hospital,' Kansas city leader says after closure By Morgan Haefner F ort Scott, Kan., saw its hospital close in December 2018. Now the community is questioning whether it needs a hospital at all, according to Kaiser Health News. Mercy Hospital Fort Scott, a 46-bed hospital run by St. Lou- is-based Mercy health system, closed Dec. 31, 2018. Its parent company, Mercy, which operates 40 acute care and specialty hospitals, cited declining patient volumes and shrinking reimbursement as reasons for the closure. At the time of the closure, City Manager Dave Martin said leaders felt the decision was a betrayal. However, in a year they changed their tune. At the end of 2019, Mr. Martin said, "We will not have — or do we need — a hospital" to care for the city's 7,800 residents. That's because up to 95 percent of the healthcare services offered by the hospital are still available to residents, local healthcare leaders told KHN, but through different means. The community, notably, still has an emergency room, oper- ated under a two-year agreement with Wichita, Kan.-based Ascension Via Christi." Additionally, most of the physicians stayed in Fort Scott and took positions at a regional federally-qualified healthcare center. The center has taken over most of the clinic work Mer- cy provided, and other services have been added. Ultimately, leaders told KHN the community will "right-size" its healthcare, adding what is truly needed and learning to let go what was underused. n

• Cover