Indiana University Health is trimming its workforce by about 800 positions at seven campuses as part of a plan to slash $1 billion in costs over the next five years.
Five hospitals—IU Health University Hospital in Indianapolis; IU Health North Hospital in Carmel, IU Health Saxony Hospital in Fishers, IU Health Tipton (Ind.) Hospital and IU Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie—will see workforce reductions, and those losing their jobs will be notified in October.
The announcement comes amid similar ones around the country as hospitals and systems say they have no choice but to shed employees to adjust to declining volumes, lower Medicare reimbursement and an array of disruptions to the industry driven by the healthcare reform law. U.S. hospitals added only 900 jobs in August, compared with an average of 6,800 a month in 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week.
IU Health leaders said they are examining all areas to achieve the targeted savings and noted they have cut and consolidated services at IU Health Methodist Hospital, one of its Indianapolis campuses. Affected programs included cardiac rehab and the pediatric intensive-care unit.
“This is a challenging time for the healthcare industry—the pace of change is far greater than any time in recent history,” Jim Terwilliger, president of IU Health Methodist and IU Health University hospitals, said in a news release. “Hospitals across the country are seeing fewer patients and receiving less reimbursement from the government and private insurers—IU Health is not alone in this regard.”
IU Health officials said in the release that they expect that many employees whose jobs are on the chopping block would opt to retire early or be transferred within the system.
“Our team members are the most important asset to the mission of our organization and we are profoundly aware of the effect of our decision on these individuals, their families, and the communities we serve,” Daniel Evans Jr., IU Health president and CEO, said in the release.
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