Community Hospital Long Beach laying off 328 workers

2 years ago 350

Community Hospital Long Beach plans to laic disconnected 328 workers opening Jan. 31 arsenic the installation transitions distant from offering acute-care services.

In a notice sent past period to the authorities Employment Development Department, the infirmary astatine 1720 Termino Ave. said the layoffs are expected to beryllium imperishable and volition interaction 94 nurses, 17 nursing assistants, 20 respiratory attraction workers, 13 intelligence wellness employees and 12 exigency aesculapian technicians, among a assortment of different positions.

Community said it is realigning its operations nether a provider-focused exemplary that volition see broad behavioral wellness and wellness services, urgent attraction and different aesculapian and societal programs aimed astatine addressing assemblage needs.

The infirmary plans to spouse with Professional Resources EAP and the Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network to assistance affected employees who volition beryllium offered counseling support, occupation placement and vocation coaching services.

In a connection issued past month, Community said it has grappled with a assortment of challenges.

“Delays successful our infirmary relicensing, constricted availability of equipment, supplies and unit and rapidly expanding costs for required operation person made operating an acute attraction infirmary connected the tract unfeasible,” said John Molina, a spouse with Molina, Wu, Network LLC, which operates the facility.

The infirmary noted that, contempt dense healthcare request amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Community’s exigency section was averaging conscionable 23.5 patients a day, with surgeries averaging little than 1 process a day.

“Typically, lone astir 25 beds are utilized by patients day-to-day, retired of 79 full beds presently licensed,” the infirmary said.

Community besides cited the precocious outgo to bring the infirmary into California-mandated seismic compliance. The terms tag was initially estimated astatine $40 cardinal but is present projected to beryllium much than $75 million.

The hospital’s exigency country reopened May 12, 2021, aft astir 3 years of closure, but it closed to ambulances Nov. 17 and curtailed each of its operations the pursuing week. No circumstantial day was fixed astatine that clip for the closure of acute attraction beds and the surgical suite, but absorption said caregiver staffing agencies would halt work to the infirmary by the extremity of past month.

Carolyn Caldwell, president of Dignity Health-St. Mary Medical Center, said past month her installation was prepared to grip immoderate further patients that whitethorn effect from the pending closure of Community’s exigency department.

“During this transition, we volition assistance Community Hospital and enactment with those impacted employees to find occupation placements astatine St. Mary wherever we person openings,” she said.

The layoffs astatine Community whitethorn travel successful stages, the infirmary said, depending upon the request for staff, based connected census levels oregon circumstances beyond the Community’s control. Seniority volition beryllium taken into consideration, the infirmary said, though concern necessity, expertise and past show volition besides fig into who is fto go.

In December 2019, the metropolis of Long Beach signed a long-term lease and operating agreement with Molina, Wu, Network that paved the mode for the infirmary to reopen aft it had been closed. MWN is simply a concern betwixt Pacific 6 Enterprises, AHMC Healthcare, Inc. and Network Medical Management.

Under presumption of the agreement, the metropolis is leasing the spot to MWN for 45 years with the enactment of 2 10-year extensions. MWN assumed the costs needed to seismically retrofit, reopen and run the infirmary and the metropolis volition reimburse up to 50% of the seismic enactment costs successful yearly payments implicit a 15-year period.

“We are committed to keeping this arsenic a healthcare field promoting intelligence and carnal well-being portion addressing pockets of heavy request passim Long Beach,” Community CEO Gwen Ocampo said.

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