Philadelphia's Jefferson Hospital cuts 179 positions

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Philadelphia's Jefferson Hospital cuts 179 positions

Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 2002

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital says it will save $30 million by laying off 99 employees and eliminating 80 vacant positions. The Philadelphia-area hospital, part of a system that laid off 91 at another hospital last month, says the cuts are needed in light of rising malpractice insurance rates....

"Our malpractice expense is going up from $16 million in fiscal year 2002 to $32 million in fiscal year 2003, a doubling of our insurance premiums," Brechbill said....

Full story:

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/3305160.htm

Maternity Dept at Methodist Hospital (and only one in South Philadelphia) CLOSED eliminating 91 positions (and one

source of our Homecare referrals)...baby's birth's down this week.

Karen

[-jt]

"It's virtually every department in the institution with the exception of staff nurses that care for the patients on the floors," said Alan L. Brechbill, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"We are recruiting nurses right now, like everyone else is, despite the reductions we are making," he said.......showed a positive operating margin of 2.81 percent in fiscal year 2001.....The system had $2.1 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2001.>>

So this hospital is making a profit & STILL laying off support staff in order to continue paying the MD's perk of free medical malpractice insurance. For what? Higher profits? Nice. Just who do they think is now going to do the work that all this support staff once did?

The hosptial may think this layoff is not going to affect patient care, but we know from first hand experience that when the support staff is laid off, the NURSES are expected to assume their duties, and that takes time away from the patients and prevents the nurses from being able to provide quality patient care. One of the reasons nurses are bolting from hospital jobs is because we dont have enough support staff help and are being pulled in too many directions. And the hospital thinks they will be able to find nurses who want to work there? Not when the nurses find out they will also have to be doing the jobs of the lab techs, secretaries, etc, as well as trying to find the time to do their own properly.

If they arent satisfied with the 2.8% profit that they made, wouldnt it make more sense to just ask the doctors to start contributing to the cost of their own medical malpractice insurance themselves, instead of cutting cutting cutting everything that affects the quality of patient care in the long run?