‘Gut-wrenching decision’ for local medical office layoffs. Hospitals avoid cuts for now
Hospitals across the border in South Carolina have begun to see major layoffs in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but Charlotte hospitals say that isn’t the case here.
In South Carolina, hospitals in Chester and Lancaster counties owned by the Medical University of South Carolina Health will see a round of temporary layoffs and press cuts, The Herald reported Tuesday. MUSC health facilities including the Chester and Lancaster hospitals and others in Florence and Marion will see about 900 temporary layoffs.
In Charlotte, both Novant Health and Atrium Health have seen a decline in revenue after canceling elective surgeries, but neither system has announced layoffs.
But at least one Charlotte medical practice will see cuts though. Independent practice Tryon Medical Partners has reduced its staff of 300 by about 75 people in response to the spread of COVID-19.
That’s because the office has moved to more virtual visits than in-person visits after Mecklenburg’s stay at home order, according to Tryon Medical.
Employees were notified of the job cuts in late March, Tryon Medical said in a statement. The jobs cuts don’t include Tryon’s 92 doctors.
“This has been a gut-wrenching decision for me, our physician-led board of directors and all our 92 doctors, who own our practice,” Tryon CEO Dr. Dale Owen said in a statement. “We look forward to increasing our staff of medical professionals in the future as our patients are able to reschedule their in-office appointments.”
Making plans
Atrium’s decision to postpone non-essential surgeries came with “significant financial consequences,” CEO Gene Woods said at a board meeting last week.
In the wake of those consequences, the board voted to approve using a revolving line of credit that would allow Atrium to borrow up to $750 million to finance operations and improvements related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Atrium and Novant may soon need to staff a 600-bed field hospital in uptown Charlotte. The hospital would need a staff of about 700 employees, according to Novant CEO Carl Armato.
The hospital systems had previously asked the county to open a 3,000-bed hospital on UNC Charlotte’s campus. But county manager Dena Diorio told Mecklenburg County commissioners Tuesday night that she had since learned the federal government would not be sending assistance in the form of staffing or funding up front.
Diorio said county funds used on the field hospital would be eligible for federal reimbursement.
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