Waterbury Hospital is immediately laying off 75 people, after ending the last fiscal year with an almost $10 million loss and losing $34 million over the past four years.
The hospital is laying off 75 staff members, eliminating 20 open positions and decreasing worked hours for 15 employees.
The cuts include 22 management level positions, as well as educators, clerical and support staff and union and nonunion individuals.
“This is a sad day for our organization,” Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of the hospital, said in a statement. “This is a significant reduction. I am asking all local businesses that are hiring to please consider our employees.”
The cuts will affect approximately 5 percent of the hospital’s workforce of 1,700 employees and are expected to save approximately $4.4 million, hospital officials said.
“Our focus is on non-direct patient care areas to ensure that the quality of care our patients have come to depend on is not interrupted,” Stromstad said.
Layoff notices began on Monday and will continue on Tuesday.
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All impacted nonunion employees will receive severance and a continued benefit package, hospital officials said.
“The crux of this issue is decreasing reimbursement, increasing costs and the impact of a soft economy,” Stromstad said in a statement. “Almost 70% of our patients are covered by a governmental payer which doesn’t negotiate payment. It’s fixed.”
Last summer, Waterbury Hospital announced it had signed a Letter of Intent with the already-announced Joint Venture of Saint Mary’s Hospital and the Texas-based for profit LHP Hospital Group to merge and build a single replacement hospital in Waterbury.
While the process to merge continues to be on track, Stromstad said, the hospital still needs to run its daily operations.
“The opportunity for a replacement hospital in Waterbury is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Stromstad said, “and we are all very motivated and optimistic. That said, today we remain an independent hospital and we must run ourselves that way.”
