PeaceHealth announced another round of employee layoffs this week.
The healthcare non-profit, which serves Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, says it's cutting 2.5% of its workforce.
"This decision was not made lightly," said PeaceHealth spokesperson Jim Murez in a statement to KLCC Wednesday. "It reflects the ongoing need to transform and modernize our operations in response to the rapidly changing healthcare landscape—one that has challenged even the most resilient healthcare organizations."
Murez said most of the cuts are non-clinical jobs, including administrative positions at the non-profit's Shared Service Center in Vancouver, Washington. That facility helps the whole network with services like Human Resources, patient finances, accounting, and more.
Kevyn Paul with the Oregon Nurses Association said none of the union’s workers were included in these layoffs. But she said Oregon facilities are losing nurse managers, which could hurt patient care overall.
“They're taking away the people who support us, allow us to do our job, and get us what we need to be at the bedside," she said.
Murez told KLCC that this Friday will be last day in the office for many caregivers, while some will work through Nov. 7. In a statement, he wrote the non-profit would provide "comprehensive transitional support consistent with our policies and practices to all impacted caregivers."
One PeaceHealth employee told KLCC they only learned during a meeting Tuesday morning that they were losing their job, and Friday would be their last day at work.
Paul said staff haven't been given enough prepare for the transition, even as remaining employees will have to take on much larger workloads.
"With PeaceHealth, what I've seen over and over again is they do some cost cutting measures, such as layoffs or closures of facilities, without planning how to cover that need beforehand," said Paul. "They just say, 'here's the situation, and you're in charge of this. Now figure it out.'"
This week's announcement follows previous layoffs at PeaceHealth in recent months. The non-profit cut 1% of its staffing in May, according to the Lund Report, and 18 leadership positions in September, as the Register-Guard reported.
It been nearly two years since the non-profit shut down the only emergency room in Eugene, citing financial losses and lack of staffing.
