Passavant Area Hospital C.E.O.: Cuts will probably be everywhere

A local hospital is looking to trim it's budget. Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville offered early retirement packages to 99 employees in an effort to cut costs in February. 40 took the offer. Those employees are all over the age of 60 and have worked at Passavant for at least 5 years.

Chester Wynn, Passavant C.E.O. says the hospital will now have to evaluate which of those 40 positions will be replaced. Personnel cuts are on the horizon, thanks to $2 million dollars less revenue for the first quarter of this year.

That figure stems from less people going to the hospital and the hospital saw an increase in their employee's health insurance claims. So when cuts happen, which departments will be impacted?

“That will probably be everywhere,” Wynn said. “We don't want to make cuts that interfere with actual services we provide. But the way we provide those services, could be different."

Wynn would not discuss how many personnel cuts will have to be made to close the budget gap.
By April 19th, a plan should be finalized when the next board meeting takes place.

This news at Passavant will not impact their new emergency room, which is scheduled to open this summer. Money for that project was set aside years ago.

Passavant Area Hospital is Jacksonville’s largest employer with about 900 employees.
Passavant Area Hospital C.E.O.: Cuts will probably be everywhere

Posted: Wednesday, March 17 2010, 05:34 PM CDT