Becker's Hospital Review

11 CFO / FINANCE Intermountain Healthcare to cut 250 business positions By Kelly Gooch I ntermountain Healthcare, a 24-hospital health system based in Salt Lake City, is eliminating 250 business function posi- tions to reduce costs and improve healthcare affordability, the health system announced Oct. 13. The reductions will occur through voluntary separation and on- going attrition and will not affect direct patient care positions. Voluntary separation packages are available for about 750 employees in Intermountain's centralized business functions, if they are at least 55 years old and have worked at the organi- zation 10 or more consecutive years, the health system said in a news release. Intermountain announced in June that it will also only replace a position left vacant from an employee's voluntary departure if the position is deemed critical for patient care. As of Oct. 13, the health system had 50 open positions in centralized busi- ness functions that won't be filled. Intermountain described these changes, as well as some in- ternal reorganization of the Intermountain Medical Group, as steps "to help keep healthcare more affordable now and in the future," decrease overhead costs and improve efficiencies with administrative and business functions. The health system said it will use involuntary reductions if vol- untary separation and ongoing attrition do not eliminate the 250 business positions. Intermountain has 41,000 employees who serve patients in Utah, southern Idaho and southern Nevada. n New Hampshire health system files for bankruptcy By Alia Paavola L RGHealthcare, a two-hospital system in Laconia, N.H., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Oct. 19, according to the Laconia Daily Sun. The bankruptcy filing will help the system relieve its debt load of more than $100 million. "We have known for some time that our current re- ality is not sustainable for the long term, and minor fixes will not get us where we need to be," LRG- Healthcare President and CEO Kevin Donovan told the Laconia Daily Sun. "Even before the significant impact of COVID-19, we were bearing a substantial financial burden." Mr. Donovan said the organization will con- tinue to provide quality care to patients during the bankruptcy process and that its 1,400-member team won't face layoffs or benefit reductions. LRGHealthcare tried for more than two years to find a partner to help stabilize its finances. However, Mr. Donovan said that filing for bankruptcy was necessary after it became clear its debt would be an impedi- ment to any deal. Another New Hampshire hospital, Concord (N.H.) Hospital, has made an initial bid of $30 million to purchase LRGHealthcare's assets, which include two hospitals and a network of ambulatory care centers, according to the Laconia Daily Sun. n Jefferson Health to cut 500 jobs, reduce exec pay By Ayla Ellison P hiladelphia-based Jefferson Health in October began taking steps to reduce costs to help offset losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. e 14-hospital system plans to eliminate between 500 and 600 positions through at- trition and will cut pay for its "most senior executives," the Philadelphia Business Journal reported Oct. 13. Jefferson Health is making cuts aer report- ing a net loss of $298.7 million in the fiscal year ended June 30. e system posted a loss aer receiving $320 million in grants made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to help cover lost revenue and expenses linked to the pandem- ic, according to e Philadelphia Inquirer. "As one of the health systems in the United States with the largest amount of COVID pa- tients during the surge, and one of the low- est employee infectivity rates, we took a 'no expense is too much to protect our employ- ees' approach with PPE and other measures that drove up short-term expenses," Stephen Klasko, MD, president of omas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, told the Philadelphia Business Journal. Dr. Klasko said in October that patient vol- umes were beginning to rebound, and it is ahead of budget for fiscal year 2021. "We made a conscious decision, as the re- gion's second-largest employer, to do no fur- loughs and only very few pre-planned layoffs during the pandemic surge," Dr. Klasko told the Philadelphia Business Journal. "Due to our financial stewardship and growth over the past five years, our balance sheet was very stable and remains very stable." In addition to cutting unfilled positions and reducing executive pay, the health system is taking a few other steps to achieve savings, including a pay freeze and a one-year sus- pension of employer contributions to em- ployee retirement plans beginning Jan. 1. n

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