EDMONDS – An unexpected decline in patients the first two months of the year has Stevens Hospital planning to cut up to 100 jobs.
The hospital has 1,350 full- and part-time employees.
“The issue is declining (patient) volumes and declining revenue,” the hospital’s chief executive, Dr. John Todd, said Thursday. “We have to take action.”
Todd said it was not known why the number of patient admissions declined so sharply at Stevens, the biggest taxpayer-supported hospital in Snohomish County.
Other area medical groups also have reported downturns, he added.
The hospital, which is expected to take in $139 million in revenue this year, must trim expenses by about $500,000 a month, Todd said.
“It would be irresponsible not to address the situation,” said Fred Langer, president of the hospital board. “Unfortunately, business decisions have to be made.”
Langer, an attorney who once worked as a nurse at the hospital, said he still has many friends at the hospital.
“It breaks my heart,” Langer said of the job cuts. “It hurts. It’s just that simple.”
In January and February, the average number of patients admitted to the hospital dropped 20 percent compared with the same period in 2005, hospital officials said. The number of outpatient surgeries declined 11 percent compared with the same period in 2005.
In recent weeks, the number of hospitalized patients has dropped to as low as 57. On average last year, the hospital had a daily census of 98 patients. In January and February, that number fell to 84.
The downturn in patients began in November and December. Hospital officials hoped the trend would change in January and February, but it didn’t.
The decline is particularly troubling because the early months of the year generally “are the ones where we see the highest number of admissions,” Todd said.
Although hospital admissions go up and down in cycles, “our concern is there would be a long period before the upturn,” Todd said.
Langer acknowledged that the downturn comes during a time when the economy is relatively strong and unemployment rates are stable.
He said consumers have more choices about where they can be treated, particularly for outpatient surgeries.
Hospital managers will decide in the next few weeks which positions can be eliminated. The layoffs and job cuts will occur in May, said Bob Lowy, human relations director.
Employees who lose their jobs will receive severance pay based on the time they have worked at the hospital, he said. The hospital is encouraging people to retire or voluntarily leave the hospital ,but no special incentives are being offered.
The last round of layoffs was in 2001, when 17 jobs were cut.
The cuts come during a year when the hospital had hoped to break a string of years in which it either did not make money or lost money.
Through 2004, the hospital lost money in six out of seven years. Final figures aren’t available for 2005, but officials had hoped to break even.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
