Sisters of Mercy Health shedding over 500 jobs

Sisters of Mercy Health Sytem, Chesterfield, Mo., is laying off workers from 226 positions and cutting another 288 unfilled jobs in a bid to reduce redundancy and streamline operations among its 18 hospitals in four states.

System spokeswoman Barb Meyer said in an e-mail that virtually every operational and administrative department of the system saw job cuts, including finance, human resources, marketing and communications, education, facilities and materials management, information technology, and environmental. The cuts included 89 leader and 137 “nonleader” jobs from its workforce of 36,000.

The system did not release figures on the estimated financial savings from the cuts. The system had operating revenue of $3.9 billion and an operating margin of 0.6% in fiscal 2009, according to the system's annual report.

The changes announced this week also include the promotion of Denny DeNarvaez to the newly created position of regional president for the system's facilities in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois. DeNarvaez, 54, had been president of 915-bed St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. Mike McCurry, 52, an executive vice president with the system, will step in temporarily to fill the hospital president role until a permanent replacement is found, according to a news release.

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