The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

March 27, 2009

ISJ to lay off 100 more

President, CEO points to decline in hospitalizations

By Robb Murray

MANKATO — Immanuel St. Joseph’s — Mayo Health System leadership Friday announced plans to lay off another 100 workers in response to an 18 percent decline in hospitalizations.

The decline has persisted, ISJ says, during the past six months. The 100 eliminated positions come just a few weeks after the hospital announced it was laying off 40 full-time employees.

Greg Kutcher, president and CEO of Immanuel St. Joseph’s, said the hospital notified workers Friday that layoffs were imminent, although he said they have not decided exactly who will be laid off, nor which or how many of certain positions — such as nurses, doctors, aides, etc. — were at risk.

Kutcher said the hospital has seen a dramatic decline in use of certain areas of the hospital. In-patient care has seen the biggest hit, and departments where the declines have come probably will take the biggest hit in the layoffs.

“We have increases in our outpatient business and clinic business,” he said. “If you look at this more globally, that’s kind of what patients want. They want to be taken care of and not have to go into the hospital.”

Most of the layoffs, like the layoffs from a few weeks ago, will come from ISJ’s Mankato workers.

“We must adjust our staffing levels to more appropriately reflect the number of patients being admitted into our hospital,” he said.

Kutcher said he doesn’t foresee any more cuts in the immediate future. He added, however, that if additional economic pressures put the hospital in such a situation, “We’ll have to respond to them.

“We’re an organization that, our big problem for many years was trying to meet demand, having enough beds or nurses. To have a sudden downturn is a huge shift ... And the same downturns are happening elsewhere.”

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News