King's Daughters Medical Center (KDMC), the Kentucky-based hospital system which operates a clinic in Jackson, laid off 82 employees Tuesday with more workers to likely to be affected later.
There is no official word how the local clinic, Jackson Medical Specialties, located at 14395, State Route 93, Jackson, will be affected. Local representatives late Tuesday afternoon referred The Telegram to KDMC's main office in Ashland, Kentucky. However, as of Tuesday evening, the newspaper had not been able to speak with a KDMC representative at that location.
KDMC issued a statement to some media Tuesday afternoon that indicated that worsening finances had forced KDMC "to reduce the number of team members the medical center employs." The statement did not specify the number of layoffs that had been made or would be made.
However, WSAZ-TV (Channel 3) was reporting by 5 p.m. that 82 employees had been laid off and also that another 150 were" given the opportunity to go part-time, change shifts, or just leave." All of these options would involve a pay reduction.
WSAZ-TV also reported that the union representing some of the hospital's workers will fight the layoffs because their contract reportedly stipulates that the hospital has to provide a seven-day notice before implementing layoffs.
KDMC Statement KDMC released the following statement Tuesday:
"The economic recession has hit our region hard and is lasting longer than anyone expected. KDMC has weathered the economic downturn for two years by minimizing capital expenditures, changing benefits, renegotiating contracts and changing flow processes whenever possible to improve efficiency.
"However, the harsh reality is that patients are delaying their own healthcare and often those who are receiving the needed care cannot pay for it. Unreimbursed care and bad debt are at an all-time high for our organization -- approaching the $100-million mark this year, which is a 33 percent increase over just a year ago. This is a $25-million difference in one year. Cost reductions alone cannot compensate for this change in our community and in our country.
"Unfortunately, we had to make the very difficult decision to reduce the number of team members the medical center employs. In healthcare, people are our most important resource, which has made this decision even more difficult. However, it is critical for the future of healthcare in our community.
KDMC is working closely with the team members affected by the organizational changes to access available benefits, including other job options that may be available both in the medical center and in the region, and including unemployment benefits. We know this will be traumatic for all our team members and the community as well, but we will support them through this difficult time.
We are here to serve all those who come through our doors and are committed to providing the same high quality, customer focused care to all individuals. This reduction in our workforce was done only as a last resort, but we had to respond to the continuing economic realities of the recession.
"KDMC has experienced many economic ups and downs over the past 111 years. We will manage through this situation so that we can care for our patients and their families for another 100 years at the very highest levels that our community has come to expect."
