Becker's Hospital Review

36 POPULATION HEALTH 36 CEO/STRATEGY Washington community hospital lays off 24% of leadership, executive roles to remain open By Kelly Gooch A berdeen, Wash.-based Grays Harbor Com- munity Hospital laid off 24 percent of its leadership amid restructuring efforts to reach financial stability, according to a hospital news release. Officials said Grays Harbor made the move following a concentrated evaluation by Navigant, a consulting firm. ey expect to save an estimated $1.25 million. e percentage includes executive-level positions that will remain vacant for the time being , including COO, CFO and cultural change leader. Grays Har- bor noted all service lines will remain in place and all patient care departments will be fully operational. Officials also made it clear the layoffs are not a result of poor work. "It is imperative that we treat our employees, some of which have been with the organization for more than 30 years, with respect and dignity," the hospital said. "We cannot overstate the fact that these layoffs are not a statement about work ethic or ability. is is the unfortunate result of low volumes and contin- ued reimbursement reductions. Financial stability is imperative, staffing and benefits make up the largest part of our costs and need to be reduced." Grays Harbor has struggled financially, partially due to declining patient volume. To improve its financial picture, the hospital subcontracted billing services in January, resulting in the layoff of 21 employees. e hospital also cut seven health information manage- ment jobs last fall. Additionally, Grays Harbor lost its COO on April 6 and CFO on March 23, amid con- cerns regarding the hospital's financial situation. In addition to layoffs, the hospital's other efforts to reach financial stability include working with Navi- gant; a rural health clinic project go-live scheduled for April 16, 2018, which is designed to allow the hospital to receive cost-based reimbursement for primary care; and restructuring hospital debt and re- financing its $35 million loan with Key Bank. More layoffs are also expected in the near future, ac- cording to e Daily World. n New Nashville mayor: 'I'm committed to having a public safety-net hospital in our community' By Leo Vartorella N ewly appointed Nashville, (Tenn.) Mayor David Briley expressed support for sustained funding to keep inpatient care at Nash- ville General Hospital, according to The Tennessean. Mr. Briley was vice mayor before former Mayor Megan Barry resigned March 6 after admitting to felony theft for using city dollars to fund per- sonal vacations with her head of security, with whom she was having an affair. Ms. Barry supported the conversion of Nashville General, the city's only public safety-net hospital, to an outpatient facility. Mr. Briley, however, said he does not share Ms. Barry's views on the hospital. "I wasn't initially supportive of the [former] mayor's direction," Mr. Briley told The Tennessean. "I'm committed to having a public safe- ty-net hospital in our community. But I'm not a hospital expert. I don't know how that should work. I see my role, having made that commitment to a public safety-net hospital to make sure that every penny the city dedicates to that service is spent in the most effec- tive way possible." Mr. Briley noted that the hospital offers many essential services to the city's underserved and underinsured, such as OB-GYN and ma- ternity care, but said the city must work harder to sort the facility's finances. The Metro Council regularly does not meet the hospital's annual funding requests, only to grant the hospital supplemental funding later in the year. "I don't think at the end of the day that it is very beneficial to either the hospital or the community for there to be a supplemental request every year," Mr. Briley told The Tennessean. "We've got to get to a point where the city knows how much they need, they're committed to living within that number, and it's not a crisis on a regular basis." n Gallup poll: Healthcare is Americans' greatest worry By Leo Vartorella A mericans worry more about healthcare than any other issue, according to a Gallup survey. The poll, conducted March 1 to March 8, surveyed 1,041 adults via phone. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were represented. It asked respondents to rate how much they worry about various policy topics as either "a great deal," "a fair amount" or "only a little/not at all." The survey found 55 percent of respondents worried a great amount about "the availability and affordability of healthcare," while 23 percent worried about it a fair amount and another 23 percent only worried about it a little, if at all. Crime and violence, federal spending and the availability of guns each concerned 51 percent of Americans "a great deal." n

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