EASLEY — Prisma Health officials announced on Thursday they are taking additional measures to “improve operating efficiencies and streamline the organization.” Which, in layman’s terms, means the company is laying off hundreds of employees.
“The health-care environment in which we operate is becoming increasingly challenging for a variety of reasons, including lower reimbursements and increasing numbers of patients who are underinsured or uninsured,” said Mark O’Halla, president and chief executive officer of Prisma Health. “When we formed Prisma Health 26 months ago, we began integrating and consolidating functions to gain the benefits of scale and to remove costs from the organization. We have already eliminated duplicative executive management positions, restructured leadership, and gained significant cost savings in supplies, technology and other areas. We are taking steps to ensure that everything we are doing – both clinical and non-clinical – is delivering quality and value. As part of this ongoing work, we have identified a number of additional expense-reduction strategies, many of which impact our workforce. These are difficult decisions, but we need to make them now so we can provide the quality care our patients deserve in a financially sustainable manner that positions us for future growth opportunities.”
According to company officials, Prisma Health is eliminating 327 staff members from a workforce of 32,000.
Since Oct. 1, management has already eliminated 200 positions through attrition, vacancies and consolidation, for a total of 527 positions.
Company officials said the 327 employees were notified beginning Thursday that their positions were being eliminated. Areas affected span the organization, including administrative, corporate and clinical areas across all campuses, they said.
Baptist Easley Hospital, also owned by Prisma, is one of Easley’s largest employers. It is unclear how many affected positions were at the Easley location.
Prisma Health stated they are providing the affected team members with severance pay and outplacement services. Affected staff also will have the opportunity to apply for open positions across the organization, they said.
But the “streamlining” plan doesn’t stop at the 527 job cuts: Additional changes to select services include Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital’s 15-bed Subacute Unit, which will be phased out in March, and the Children’s Residential Program in Greenville, which will be phased out in April.
“Patient populations treated in these programs have a number of other local options, and Prisma Health is taking the steps necessary to ensure that there is minimal disruption to patient care during this transition,” they said.
“We’re committed to building a stronger organization, where patients will experience consistent, high-quality care, regardless of which Prisma Health location they choose for care,” O’Halla said. “At Prisma Health, the patient is at the center of everything we do. While we remain fundamentally solid, we will continue to streamline the organization and make it more efficient, while also making investments in growth and expansion to meet the evolving needs of our patients and the communities we serve. This is the new normal for us and all other successful health-care organizations.”
