Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/821337
45 45 CEO/STRATEGY CHI Lays Off 484 Employees in Texas, North Dakota By Ayla Ellison and Kelly Gooch E nglewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives most recent round of layoffs affects a combined 484 positions at CHI Texas Di- vision and CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck, N.D. CHI's Texas division has laid off 459 employees and will leave 161 vacant positions unfilled, according to the Houston Business Journal. The 620 elim- inated positions represent less than 4 percent of CHI's workforce in Texas. CHI Texas Division includes CHI St. Luke's Health in Houston, CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial in Lufkin and CHI St. Joseph Health in Bryan. CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial was not affected by the cutbacks, according to the Houston Business Journal. Including the newest round of cuts, CHI Texas Division has eliminated 1,285 positions over the past eight months, according to the report. In its latest round of layoffs, CHI St. Alexius Health, cut 25 employees on April 6, reports The Bismarck Tribune. The health system attributed the workforce restructuring to a shifting healthcare environment and declin- ing reimbursement from third-party payers. CHI St. Alexius Health has made multiple rounds of layoffs this year. In January, the health system laid off 52 employees, or 2.7 percent of its total workforce. The next month, it laid off 19 people, according to the report. That's on top of the 23 employees who were laid off in March 2016. In total, CHI St. Alexius Health has laid off 119 employees in a little over a year, reports The Bismarck Tribune. CHI is focused on performance improvement and expense reduction as part of a financial turnaround plan. The nonprofit 103-hospital system ended the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss of $153.9 million, compared to an operating loss of $112.1 million in the same period of the year prior. CHI didn't immediately respond to Becker's request for comment. n Hackensack Meridian Health Unveils New Brand By Heather Punke L ess than a year after it formed via a merger, Hackensack Meridian Health in Edison, N.J., launched a new brand, logo and tagline — "Life Years Ahead" — on April 5. "Over the last nine months, Hackensack Me- ridian Health has successfully integrated into the leading healthcare network in New Jersey. Our new brand is just another step toward tru- ly becoming one network that is elevating the standard of healthcare not only in New Jersey but nationwide," said Robert C. Garrett, co- CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. According to Mr. Garrett, the new tagline rep- resents the system's "commitment to pushing the boundaries of medicine to reach new heights of research and innovation." Hackensack Meridian Health formed in June 2016 when Hackensack University Health Network and Meridian Health merged. The new system now includes 13 hospitals, more than 120 ambulatory care centers and oth- er clinics, more than 28,000 employees and 6,000 physicians. All 13 of the system's hospitals will be renamed to include Hackensack Meridian Health in front of their current names, and signage will be updated across the system in the coming months. n PeaceHealth Revises Number of Job Cuts in Oregon to 271 By Kelly Gooch V ancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth will cut 271 positions in Oregon, up from the 186 initially anticipated, re- ports e Register-Guard. e job cuts are part of PeaceHealth's previ- ously announced lab contract with Madison, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics. Under the Feb. 15 deal, Quest will assume management responsibilities for labs serving PeaceHealth hospitals in Washington state, Alaska and Oregon, which PeaceHealth will still own, according to the report. Officials said rough- ly 186 workers in Oregon and 142 workers in Washington state would be affected, accord- ing to the previously announced contract. PeaceHealth spokeswoman Sarah Ness told e Register-Guard an additional 85 jobs, including lab assistants and medical technol- ogists, are now slated to be cut in Oregon by May 28, bringing the combined total number of anticipated job cuts to 413. Ms. Ness also said Quest has agreed to purchase Peace- Health's nonhospital lab business, which includes labs in the Oregon communities of Eugene and Springfield, according to the report. e job cuts will primarily affect employees at PeaceHealth Labs' headquarters in Spring- field, Ore., according to the report. Quest officials said the company plans to hire 275 employees in Oregon and Washington state as part of the deal. "ese [85 additional] individuals are en- couraged to apply for different roles with PeaceHealth or Quest and, if qualified, will be given priority in the interview scheduling process. We are committed to providing the highest possible level of respect, assistance and support services to assist caregivers in this transition," Ms. Ness said, according to e Register-Guard. n