Marshfield Clinic to put off furloughed staff

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Dive Temporary:

• In Might, Marshfield Clinic Health System will lay off staff IT furloughed earlier this yr, a spokesperson confirmed to Healthcare Dive on Thursday.
• The Wisconsin-based nonprofit furloughed about 3% of its workers in January, largely in non-patient-seeing positions, in a bid to handle rising labor prices. With about 12,000 workers, based on Marshfield’s website, the cuts would seemingly have an effect on round 300 folks.
• Since January, greater than 60 furloughed workers have been provided different Jobs throughout the Health system, the spokesperson stated. Staff affected by Might’s layoffs will obtain severance and may apply to different roles at Marshfield “in areas with particular wants.”

Dive Perception:

The layoffs come because the 11-hospital system struggles financially. Marshfield posted a $133.5 million operating loss through the 9 months ended Sept. 30, growing from a $92.6 million loss within the prior-year interval. 

Fitch Rankings additionally Finance/fitch-downgrades-marshfield-clinic-Health-system-wi-to-bbb-outlook-negative-17-01-2024″>downgraded Marshfield’s ranking outlook to detrimental in January. The credit score scores company famous the supplier’s efficiency had improved in 2023 in contrast with the earlier yr, however margins have been nonetheless “significantly compressed” because the system relied on contract labor and managed wage and inflation pressures.

S&P Global Ratings additionally lowered its ranking for the Health system final month, noting “heightened and ongoing” working losses and a difficult debt construction which may should be restructured quickly.

The system has made strikes to trim bills, like reducing government pay and shutting down an artwork gallery at one among its medical facilities. In February, Marshfield closed its Park Falls Dwelling Health and Hospice facility attributable to “restricted assets.” 

The system additionally notched a $10 million line of credit, based on a February monetary submitting. 

Like different financially strained hospitals, Marshfield tried to merge with one other operator, signing an settlement final summer season to mix with Health-newsroom/essentia-Health-marshfield-clinic-Health-system-sign-integration/”>Duluth, Minnesota-based Essentia Health. However the deal didn’t shut as anticipated on the finish of 2023. In January, the methods stated the merger was “not the correct path ahead” for the organizations. In S&P’s notice final month, the scores company stated Marshfield was “actively in pursuit” find a brand new companion.

Different Health methods have just lately minimize Jobs in non-patient-facing positions, together with Kaiser Permanente, Novant Health and Mass Normal Brigham.