LANSING, Mich. — Hillsdale Hospital said it has been forced to reduce its staff through retirements and layoffs, both voluntary and involuntary, in a statement sent to Fox 47.
The hospital said it has been forced to make these staff cuts due to a "significant loss in patient volumes and revenue in the early stages of COVID-19 in the United States."
“Independent rural hospitals like us provide the most patient-centered, community-focused care in the healthcare industry,” JJ Hodshire said. (Hodshire is chief operating officer and will become CEO as of June 1.) “This is where we live, work and raise our families. We are committed to providing the care our community desperately needs.”
The hospital said before Hillsdale County confirmed any cases of coronavirus, the hospital was already seeing a sharp decline in volumes due to cancellations from concerned patients that the resulting decrease in revenue was projected to add a $6 million loss to the hospital's bottom line by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30.
“Unfortunately, much of rural America has an aging, impoverished population. The vast majority of our patients rely on Medicare and Medicaid to pay for their care,” Hodshire said. “The current structure of Medicare and Medicaid payments by the state and federal government leaves us fighting for a zero percent operating margin. So, when our volumes decrease by half in some departments overnight due to a crisis like this, we’re left to make tough decisions that have a significant impact on our Hillsdale Hospital family.”
The hospital said because of the executive order from Governor Gretchen Whitmer prohibiting elective procedures, the hospital had to make adjustments as circumstances would get worse.
“By prohibiting entry of anyone exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness, while restricting access of almost anyone who isn’t themselves a patient, we have mitigated the risk of exposure to our patients who still need important healthcare services,” Hodshire said. “Elective procedures are not un-necessary—they are often pre-emptive measures to help patients avoid more serious health conditions in the future. Putting these off indefinitely could very well lead to serious health complications for our patients in the future.”
The hospital said in order to keep financial stability, it immediately ceased capital equipment purchases, wage adjustments and hiring for new or open positions.
The hospital said the process of reallocating existing staff began, along with prohibiting over-time hours and the use of "casual" or "as-needed" staff.
In addition, the hospital said it implemented an hour-by-hour monitoring of staff levels compared to the number of patients who are currently receiving care. To enhance the process, the hospital said a daily staffing and census task force meeting was created to review the current levels of patients and make sure appropriate adjustments were made.
“We are hopeful that the emergency relief funding we keep hearing about will make its way to us,” Hodshire said. “But payment for treating COVID-19 patients will not make up for the loss of revenue from caring for our normal patient population—people who desperately need access to health care.”
The hospital said layoffs are not permanent and are expected to last for an initial 45-day period. The hospital said after the 45 days it will re-evaluate operations and make a decision on whether or not those who were laid off can come back to work.
“We sincerely hope this staffing adjustment will be temporary,” Hodshire said. “As we navigate the changing environment in which we care for our community, we will fight for the needed funding—from federal and state sources—to recover our substantial financial losses. We hope to recall every one of these employees as soon as we can.”
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