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HOSPITAL CONCERNS: Newton's Hospital eliminates dozens of jobs
Newton's mayor says the hospital board made the decision behind closed doors
Emily Carlson Reporter
Hundreds of employees at Newton's hospital spend the weekend on edge. They're waiting to see if they'll lose their jobs on Monday.
The trouble all began back in January when the hospital's CEO abruptly resigned. Last fiscal year, the hospital lost more than more than $2.5 million, and so far this fiscal year, it's operating $1.1 million in the hole. Now, the hospital says it must cut staff.
Skiff Medical Center will terminate 23 positions, eliminate 23 unfilled positions, and reduce the hours of 51 employees. That adds up to a total savings of $1.76 million.
Staff at Skiff say morale is very low at the hospital right now. On Friday, the first pink slips were given out; the rest will come Monday and Tuesday. But what has people in the community so upset is the way the hospital board went about the layoffs. Newton's mayor, Chaz Allen, says discussions leading up to the layoffs were held behind closed doors. While he says he's confident the quality of care at Skiff will not be affected, Allen says since Skiff hospital is a city owned community hospital; the board needs to do a better job letting its citizens know what's going on.
"Any layoff is disappointing and I feel for the families that were laid off. With Skiff and the layoff process, people were hoping they would be more open and more transparent as a community hospital should be," says Allen.
No one on the board would comment on the layoff process, instead the Chairman sent us a statement saying "experiencing financial difficulties" and that "the sagging economy is putting a burden on their budget." The Chairman also says current services are being maintained, including outlying clinics.
In addition to financial troubles, the Attorney General is also investigating the hospital board for violations of open meeting acts. There is an election for the hospital board on Tuesday. Six people are running for two open seats.
Its scary when a hospital has to lay off workers!
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