We Must Make Drastic Changes: Jackson CEO
The hospital has less than 20 days left in cash reserves.
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MIAMI - DECEMBER 08: U.S. Army soldiers of the 212th Combat Support Hospital hold an intravenous drip over a trauma patient during their 24-hour shift at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center December 8, 2006 in Miami, Florida. The U.S. Army Trauma Training Center at the hospital gives medics heading into combat operations the training necessary to work on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Miami's Ryder Trauma Center was chosen because it provides access to the volume and severity of injuries needed to mimic those experienced on the battlefield. Among the goals of the program is to foster teamwork among the medics as they participated in an intense, 14-day program. The rotation culminates with a 24-hour exercise where the unit essentially takes over operations of the Ryder Trauma Center. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Twenty-one employees, including one radiologist and 20 assistant nurse managers, were laid off today in an effort to help alleviate Jackson Health System’s financial crisis.
“In order to weather this financial crisis we are in, we must make drastic changes,” Jackson Health System CEO Eneida Roldan said in a press conference earlier this afternoon.
Those changes have included 22 executive layoffs, which occurred last week, 27 open positions that have been eliminated, and today’s cuts for a grand total of $7.5 million in savings. The projected losses for 2010 are $229 million.
Roldan didn’t reveal the hospital’s entire financial plan, but she did say that that over the next month it would be, and it could possibly include consolidating services such as closing the Jackson South ER.
Though bad billing has been blamed for the financial woes, Roldan said that it has been a variety of problems and reasons that has led to the hospital having less that 20 days left in cash reserve.
"Last month they were losing $3 million a month, three days later, oh my gosh we're losing $14 million a month," Martha Baker, President of Local 1991 of the Service Employees International Union said. "Somebody needs to be held accountable."
Posted Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010 - 5:01 PM EST
