MUSC lays off 900 and cuts pay over deficits it links to coronavirus pandemic

The Medical University of South Carolina is temporarily laying off 900 employees and slashing pay across the board, due to financial hardship brought on by coronavirus, the healthcare system announced Monday.

“We are encountering unprecedented and serious financial deficits generated by the rapidly evolving COVID-19 crisis,” MUSC spokesperson Heather Woolwine said in a news release, WCIV reported. “We take very seriously the responsibility to meet the health care needs of our state and community, as well as preserve the well-being and capability of our enterprise for the future.”

Hospital leadership will see their paychecks cut by 20 percent, 15 percent for salaried employees, and a reduction in hours for non-frontline workers, according to WMBF.

“I can assure you that these decisions, which were complex, difficult, and yes, imperfect, weigh heavily on all of MUSC’s leaders,” MUSC president David Cole said in a letter to staff, the outlet reported. ”I wish the reality we are confronting were a different one. I hope there is some small comfort in knowing that we will do all that we possibly can to ensure that such large-scale disruption to individuals’ lives, in and outside of MUSC, is not in vain and as short as possible.”

State leaders have called on hospitals to halt elective surgeries in order to keep resources and manpower free for treating COVID-19, and it has taken a financial toll on the healthcare provider, WCBD reported.

According to the outlet, MUSC said these latest actions will not impact “front line health care team members who have already seen fewer work hours due to COVID-19,” either in terms of pay cuts or hour reductions.

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 10:59 PM with the headline "MUSC lays off 900 and cuts pay over deficits it links to coronavirus pandemic."