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West Penn Hospital to lay off 1,500 in BloomfieldJun 30, 2010 (The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Reconstructive surgery at the region's No. 2 hospital system will cut 1,500 employees and dramatically reduce operations at West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield. West Penn Allegheny Health System CEO Christopher T. Olivia said Tuesday cost-cutting moves made in recent years helped improve finances but can't overcome challenges threatening its future. "We can't continue to simply cut costs incrementally," Olivia said. West Penn Allegheny posted net losses of more than $80 million the past two years, including operational losses of $11.5 million in the first three quarters of the fiscal year ending today. "We must find more appropriate ways to eliminate unnecessary expenses. One way to do this is to eliminate duplicated services that continue to cost us money and drive up the overall cost of health care in the community," Olivia said. Consolidation plans include shuttering the emergency department at West Penn, leaving the nearest ER about a mile away at UPMC Shadyside, operated by rival University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The 1,500 layoffs account for more than 10 percent of the network's 13,000 workers. "It's like being at a funeral here, very sad and somber," West Penn secretary Maria Anna Veneziale, 42, of West View said after officials outlined their plans. The Bloomfield hospital no longer will offer oncology, neuroscience, critical-care, orthopedic or cardiovascular services. Those and the network's clinical and basic research programs will be based in flagship Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side. A construction project to accommodate the expansion is under way at AGH, though Olivia could not estimate the cost or scope. Place in community West Penn will continue to be home to the network's Women's and Infants' Center, bariatric surgery program, burn center and inpatient rehabilitation services. "I think most of us have been waiting for a long time for West Penn Allegheny to make this kind of courageous decision," said Jan Jennings, a health care consultant and president of American Healthcare Solutions, Downtown. "It's unfortunate for those losing their jobs, but it's essential that it right-size itself, in order to be competitive." Olivia said factors forcing the changes include declining government reimbursements on services provided to poor, elderly and uninsured patients; a declining city population base to serve; and a diminished base of private physicians who helped provide referrals. Competition from the much larger UPMC hasn't made life easier. It remains unclear what effect the looming health care overhaul will have. "Those are challenges facing all of our hospitals," said Patricia Raffaele, a vice president with the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania. Martin Gaynor, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said, "It's important for us that (West Penn Allegheny) remains viable so it can continue providing an alternative in the Pittsburgh region." But it's difficult to predict to what extent these moves will help the system, he said. The network will remove about 300 of the 505 inpatient beds from West Penn, which used less than half of its inpatient beds daily, on average. It will add about 85 beds at AGH -- though the same number were removed this year when the hospital stopped offering obstetric and psychiatry inpatient services. In all, nearly a quarter of the network's 1,600 beds will be gone by early next year. "When you look at the amount of health care facilities available in our city, I'm not sure what the long-term impact will be. In the short term, it will be greater," said Allegheny County EMS Manager Knox Walk. He said paramedic crews prefer not to transport patients outside the city. "I don't know if this will change that." Emotional impact Officials could not say how much money the consolidation or job cuts would save, and it could take months to determine how many jobs to cut in each department. Most of the affected employees will be from West Penn. Jennings said the network needed to "protect its crown jewel, AGH, which may be the best hospital in Pittsburgh. If you ignore that while propping up substandard hospitals, you're twittering away resources." "Frankly," he said, "the community will be better off." The news upset many around the Bloomfield hospital. "We're devastated. It's just so sad," said neonatal nurse Gina McMurray, 54, of Moon. "We thought less jobs would be cut." Marlene Coto, 69, of Highland Park expressed concern because her doctors are based at West Penn, but she worries about much more. "I feel sorry for the people that are going to lose their jobs. They've got bills and children," she said. "And the community will suffer because now they've got to go to Allegheny General or Shadyside." Businesses will suffer, said Tony Lombardozzi, 76, longtime owner of Lombardozzi's Restaurant across Liberty Avenue from the hospital. "When you're laying off 1,500 people, the business people are going to be hurt," he said. To see more of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |