OHSU to cut staff, freeze salaries
Portland Business Journal
Oregon Health and Science University announced a wide-ranging plan to cut costs after patient numbers fell short of projections. There will be staff cuts, OHSU President Joe Robertson announced Monday afternoon.
Robertson said that so far this year, patient volumes are up 1.2 percent, 80 percent less than the 6 percent increase OHSU anticipated.
Noting that patient volumes typically decrease in weak economies, the hospital said it is unlikely it will recover the lost revenue.
The hospital anticipates a gap of $30 million to $35 million in funding as a result.
The cost-cutting measures, which were announced, include:
• Salaries of all unclassified administration staff and faculty will be frozen at their current rates. Classified employees will continue to be covered by their union agreements.
• New hires must be cleared by upper management.
• Executive approval is required for one-time payments such as bonuses. Also, OHSU executive leaders will forego incentive pay in the current financial year that they would typically receive as part of the Executive Leadership Plan.
• OHSU Health Care will suspend new hiring and placed a hold on some capital expenses. Funding for conferences, travel and minor equipment is stopped.
• There will be an unspecified number of staff and program cuts at the unit level.
“Although this belt tightening is extremely difficult for us, it is less than what many other employers in Oregon have had to undertake,” Robertson said in a statement. “While we are one of the largest organizations in the state, our sole focus remains our own residents’ needs. All of our missions are dedicated to preserving and improving the health of Oregonians. In moving forward, we’ll continue to bring grant money into Oregon in the search for future cures that will improve Oregonians’ health. We’ll continue to educate new health care professionals who are so badly needed across the state. We’ll also continue to provide care for the most complicated cases.”
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