Renown Health on Thursday said it will lay off 166 employees and postpone some of its hiring efforts due to lower patient care volumes caused by the pandemic.
The Reno, Nev.-based health system has more than 7,000 employees in California and Nevada. It said the reductions mainly affect management and administrative positions.
Employees losing their jobs will receive severance pay and full benefits, according to Renown, and the company will hold off on filling 176 positions until further notice.
"We're focused on ensuring the needs of the community and doing it in the most efficient way possible, so we can deliver that high quality, high service that we're known for, at an appropriate cost to serve the community," said Dr. Anthony Slonim, president and CEO of Renown Health.
While eliminating certain positions, Renown plans to continue recruiting for clinical roles and jobs that support direct patient care.
Slonim said layoffs are one piece of a complete realignment strategy that includes reassigning staff to more consumer-focused positions and providing transformative telehealth options for those in remote areas.
Jobs will be preserved for nurses, doctors, pharmacists and others delivering care on a ground level, and leadership roles will be spread out more effectively, he said.
The healthcare industry lost around 12,200 jobs in June, according to preliminary estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hospitals lost an estimated 5,500 jobs. The hiring dip marked the industry's first decline since January 2021.
"A lot of [patient] volume has not come back because [care is] being delivered in a way that is more efficient and different than it was prior to the pandemic," Slonim said. "We just need to make sure that as a nimble organization, we continue to adapt and deliver care the way that people want to receive it."
