Care New England makes layoffs

CARE NEW England said it will lay off 58 employees; the majority of the affected employees are based at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, which the company wants to restructure to save money. / COURTESY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND
CARE NEW England said it will lay off 58 employees; the majority of the affected employees are based at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, which the company wants to restructure to save money. / COURTESY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF RHODE ISLAND

PAWTUCKET – Care New England said it laid off 58 employees on Tuesday in an effort to address challenging financial problems at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island and across the CNE health care system.
A CNE press release said most positions were based at Memorial, but unrelated to the proposed restructuring plan for the hospital announced last month.
Additional information regarding the types of jobs affected was not immediately available.
“It is always our goal to avoid layoffs,” Dennis D. Keefe, president and CEO of Care New England, said in a statement. “Yet, with labor representing 70 percent of the cost of health care, it is difficult to reduce expenses without it touching people. We are doing everything we can to respond to our tough financial situation, and workforce reductions are a last resort.”
The release said layoffs follow efforts by CNE to reduce costs, increase revenue, and improve revenue cycle and supply chain functions, including a plan to restructure Memorial Hospital.
Specific aspects of the restructuring plan require state regulatory approval – a decision on the relocation of the Memorial Hospital obstetric service is pending.

Those affected by the layoff will be provided information about available jobs at Butler, Kent, Women & Infants hospitals, the VNA of Care New England or CNE corporate services, in addition to information about support services, the release said.
In February, CNE said the restructuring of Memorial Hospital would result in an undetermined number of layoffs. It also said obstetrical services would move to other Care New England hospitals, such as Kent or Women & Infants.
Care New England said Memorial Hospital will become largely an outpatient facility, with primary care and specialty services, as well as an Emergency Department, orthopedic and outpatient surgical services, and a small inpatient unit. The Center for Rehabilitation, which offers inpatient and outpatient services, will remain open.

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