Between union demands for pay and benefit increases and the ObamaCare/Medicaid CUTS in reimbursements you are watching the American hospital system collapsing. In February four hospitals in Georgia were closed. Now the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is trying to cut 358 jobs—but the unions and the courts will not allow it.
The results are predictable—the hospital has NO money to pay the 358 excess employees—but is forced to do so. Now, the hospital is cutting 139 jobs they are allowed to cut—with another 219 in limbo. Do not expect this hospital to be open in 3-4 years—no amount fo court orders can pay bills if the money does not exist. This is another case of patients forced to travel further to get care.
“Most of the 219 jobs that remain in jeopardy are nursing jobs, said Sutter East Bay spokeswoman Stacey Wells. Chuck Idelson, a CNA spokesman, said in late March that the hospital was trying to go outside the collective bargaining process and a newly negotiated contract to unilaterally impose the restructuring and job cuts on its registered nurses.
Ninety-eight people were laid off between early January and April 7, Wells said; another 41 jobs were eliminated by attrition. She didn’t provide details about what categories of employees were affected.”
Alta Bates Summit cuts 139 jobs, 219 in limbo
Chris Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/25/14
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, which has hospitals in Berkeley and Oakland, has cut 139 jobs in recent months, but 219 jobs remain on the chopping block, officials confirmed late Thursday.
Earlier this year, the Sutter Health affiliate, led by CEO Chuck Prosper, posted a layoff notice for 358 jobs on the state’s WARN web site, but the California Nurses Association challenged the RN-related layoffs, and that portion of the planned staff reduction remains in limbo, awaiting a decision from an outside arbitrator.
The East Bay hospital system is also attempting to move forward with a controversial restructuring of its 1,700-member nursing staff. In late February, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg blocked Alta Bates Summit’s restructuring and RN layoff plans. While a temporary restraining order was in effect, an outside arbitrator was brought in to work on a compromise between Alta Bates Summit’s unionized nurses and management.
In late March, hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Kemp said Alta Bates Summit would maintain the status quo until the arbitrator made a final ruling on the matter, which is expected late this month or in early May.
Most of the 219 jobs that remain in jeopardy are nursing jobs, said Sutter East Bay spokeswoman Stacey Wells. Chuck Idelson, a CNA spokesman, said in late March that the hospital was trying to go outside the collective bargaining process and a newly negotiated contract to unilaterally impose the restructuring and job cuts on its registered nurses.
Ninety-eight people were laid off between early January and April 7, Wells said; another 41 jobs were eliminated by attrition. She didn’t provide details about what categories of employees were affected.
Alta Bates Summit’s clarification followed publication of apparently inaccurate information April 22 by Becker’s Hospital Review, which said the hospital had cut 358 jobs.
The trade publication included Alta Bates Summit in a list of “10 Recent Hospital Layoffs Affecting 100+ Employees.”
