Modesto’s Memorial Medical Center cutting almost 100 positions

Citing changes in the health care landscape, Memorial Medical Center is laying off almost 100 employees, and other staff members could have their work hours reduced.

The Modesto hospital affiliated with Sacramento-based Sutter Health said Wednesday the staff reductions will take effect at the end of April.

Stanislaus County officials were notified in a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act letter from Memorial. According to the letter, many of the 96 positions being cut are in food service, housekeeping, security and other support services. The cuts also include a few nursing managerial and educator positions.

The staff reductions will occur at the 423-bed hospital at 1700 Coffee Road, the education center at 1700 McHenry Village Way and offices at 1800 Coffee Road, 1401 Spanos Court and 4213 Technology Drive, the letter says.

Craig Baize, a spokesman for Sutter Central Valley Hospitals, dismissed talk that the total number of job cuts is much higher. In addition to the positions eliminated, some employees may face a reduction in work hours, he explained.

“In total, 134 positions, across both clinical and nonclinical departments, will be impacted by either a reduction in hours or a position eliminated from the payroll,” Baize wrote in an email.

The hospital expects to offer new positions to some employees whose jobs are being eliminated. It will start using an outside vendor for security.

Memorial said it is not reducing staff in areas that directly affect patient care. It promised to provide affected employees with information about severance packages, which will include extended health coverage and employee assistance benefits.

“We have engaged in long, thoughtful discussion and study of our operations and have considered and implemented changes to how we operate, all to ensure that the correct decisions – as difficult and painful as one of them may be – were made,” Chief Executive Officer Daryn Kumar said.

The CEO said Memorial is no different than other hospitals in dealing with the myriad changes in health care.

“Every hospital seeks to have a structure in place that provides the best care for patients while remaining financially responsible,” he said.

Memorial’s statement was short on details to explain the job cuts. More than three years ago, the hospital eliminated 114 positions, including nurses, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants and clerks, because of a drop in patient admissions and payments from insurers.

That was followed in mid-2013 by cuts that eliminated 39 positions at Memorial as Sutter consolidated billing, finance, human resources and purchasing functions at a center in Roseville. Sutter has hospitals and other clinical facilities spread across the Central Valley and Bay Area.

Memorial currently has about 2,400 employees. Despite the pending layoffs, the hospital is recruiting for nurses and has other health care positions to fill.

Dave White, chief executive officer of the Stanislaus Business Alliance, said the affected employees should be able to find employment in the Modesto area or nearby counties.

“Health care has been a hiring machine over the last few years,” White said. “We have a fairly vibrant health care community here. Even if it’s not here, there are opportunities in other counties nearby.”

Through its rapid response program, the business alliance will provide assistance and hold workshops with the affected employees at Memorial.

Kumar, the hospital’s CEO, said the center “is committed to providing safe, quality, affordable patient care as cost-efficiently as possible. We have our priorities in place to keep that commitment, which include continued reduction of our operating costs, optimization of technology, growth in strategic services and correct use of staffing models to ensure we remain a care provider of choice in the Central Valley.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Modesto’s Memorial Medical Center cutting almost 100 positions."