In a desperate, money-saving move, Jackson Health System officials have proposed closing down their two community hospitals, shedding almost all nonurgent clinics and services, and laying off 4,500 employees -- about a third of their total workforce.
Jackson CEO Dr. Eneida Roldan rolled out the system’s recovery plan at a meeting of the Public Health Trust, Jackson's governing body, on Friday afternoon. The cuts would save $165 million for the hospital system, currently struggling with a $230 million budget shortfall and only able to make payroll through May.
“We’re all about health care, we’re all about a safety net," said Dr. Roldan, "but needless to say these are very hard decisions and we’re in a very critical time."
Shuttering Jackson North Medical Center, purchased in 2006, would save $7.6 million annually. Closing Jackson South Community Hospital, which is currently in the middle of a $102 million expansion and renovation, would save $21 million. Laying off about 4,500 hundred employees adds an additional $70 million in budget savings.
The announcement, with a proposed closing date of May 6, stunned many in the healthcare community.
“I am surprised they moved in that direction. Those facilities provide a service to the communities they are in," said the South Florida Hospital Association's Linda Quick. "But I understand, desperate times call for decisive action."
”This is a sad day for the community," said officials at Baptist Health South Florida in a statement. "...These closures would have a tremendously negative impact on our community’s health status [but] Jackson’s problems are beyond the ability of one organization to solve."
Viviene Dixon-Shim, who represents about 5,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, says that thousands of hosital workers losing their jobs is unacceptable.
“They are the front line of this institution,” she said. “If a room is not clean and the lights are not fixed nobody else can work, the operating room can’t work, so of course that is a concern to AFSCME."
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The grim financial picture was emphasized by PHT treasurer Marcos Lapciuc, who said Jackson lost $23 million in January and will be out of money by May. And if closing two community hospitals and laying off thousands of workers sounds like a recovery plan for the long term – it’s not.
“It’s a very good Band-Aid but a very painful one,” Lapciuc said. “We do need afterwards to address the long term sustainability of the business model.”
