Becker's Hospital Review

38 38 CEO/STRATEGY 26 Pediatricians, Specialists Leave Mississippi Hospital in 1 Year By Alyssa Rege A pproximately 22 pediatricians and four special- ists have le Jackson-based University of Missis- sippi Medical Center since July 2016, according to e Clarion-Ledger. Between July 2013 and July 2017, an average of 11 physicians le UMMC's pediatric department each year. However, 10 physicians have resigned during the first three months of fiscal year 2017, which began July 1, the report states. Omar Abdul-Rahman, MD, former professor of pediat- rics and neurology and vice-chairman of pediatrics for faculty development at UPMC, told e Clarion-Ledger his departure is part of a mass exodus of physicians leav- ing UMMC in recent months. He said he chose to leave because of the hospital's poor leadership and budget cuts. "I fully intended to spend my entire academic career at UMMC," Dr. Abdul-Rahman said. "To be perfectly honest, I think the things that have happened in the last couple years really come down to the leadership at the top … [the lead- ership] is not up to par with what our expectations were. A lot of people were very disappointed … I don't think [the departures are] done yet. I think there are more to come." UMMC officials told the publication the departures during the last year and a half, comprising 13.6 percent of the department, is not an exodus. Rather, the decline is part of the normal "ebb and flow" at the hospital, ac- cording to the report. Data provided to e Clarion-Ledger by UMMC indicat- ed the hospital's pediatric department gained five physi- cians in 2016 and had not netted any faculty losses this fiscal year so far. LouAnn Woodward, MD, vice chancel- lor for health affairs and dean of the UMMC School of Medicine, told the publication the pediatric department has hired replacements to fill the vacant openings and created new positions, the report states. In February, the hospital received a $35 million reduc- tion in Medicaid funding. As a result, the administration cut each department's funding by 5 percent and required each department chairperson to make their own cuts to find savings during the last four months of fiscal year 2016. Dr. Abdul-Rahman said for the pediatrics depart- ment, the cuts came in the form of a 4 percent salary decrease for physicians between April and June, the re- port states. In March, UMMC also revealed plans to lay off approxi- mately 195 people to shore up finances. A UMMC spokesperson told Becker's Hospital Review the hospital did not have a comment on the issue. n Missouri Hospital Lays Off 50, Plans to Close Inpatient Pediatrics Nursing Unit By Ayla Ellison B oone Hospital Center in Columbia, Mo., which is managed by St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, laid off 50 employees Oct. 2 due to financial challenges caused by low patient volume and dwindling reimbursement. A hospital spokesman said the layoffs, which represent about 3 per- cent of the hospital's 1,700-member workforce, mostly affected man- agerial and support staff, according to The Columbia Missourian. Hospital trustees said they tried to avoid the workforce reduction, but their efforts were unsuccessful. "We are very disappointed," Brian Neuner, hospital board chairman, said at a board meeting Oct. 2, according to The Columbia Missouri- an. "We communicated that to local administrations, and we went to St. Louis and said, 'Can you find another way?'" The layoffs come as Boone Hospital Center is in exclusive partnership talks with Columbia-based University of Missouri Health Care. In addition to the layoffs, Boone Hospital also announced plans to close its inpatient pediatrics nursing unit to help shore up its finances. It is unclear when the hospital will close the unit. n Lahey Health to Cut Roughly 75 Jobs to Shore Up Finances By Alia Paavola B urlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health will lay off roughly 75 people to help close a budget gap, according to The Boston Globe. The permanent layoffs, which will occur later this fall, will eliminate mostly administrative and management positions. "It is the best way for us to rebalance our system, positioning our- selves to grow in response to the changing needs of our community and the external health care environment," Lahey Health's CEO, How- ard Grant, MD, wrote in a memo to staff. "This reduction will not im- pact our ability to care for our patients or our commitment to quality and safety." The cuts come as Lahey Health plans to merge with Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Lahey Health spokesman Chris Murphy told The Boston Globe the planned layoffs "[have] nothing to do with the planned affiliation" and that the cuts were driven by a need to "constantly look for opportuni- ties to be more efficient." Mr. Murphy added that the system expects to record an operating loss for fiscal year 2017. In the most recent figures available, Lahey lost $37.3 million on operations in a six-month period that ended March 31, according to the report. n

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