Up to 129 jobs cut at a Hudson Valley health system. What to know

Posted by Admin November 18, 2024 Jobs

One of the largest Hudson Valley health systems recently cut more than 100 jobs in its second round of layoffs in 2024.

Westchester Medical Center Health Network, or WMC Health, last week released a statement revealing it was laying off less than 1% of its total workforce. That would impact up to 129 jobs according to the system’s website, which noted WMC Health employs about 13,000 people.

The layoffs involved “administrative and corporate service roles across the system,” WMC Health officials said in a statement, adding “no direct patient care roles have been impacted.”

The job cuts came after an earlier round of WMC Health layoffs in May hit about 50 workers at its Rockland and Orange County medical facilities. Union officials recently said 16 of those workers have since accepted jobs at other WMC Health facilities.

What WMC Health says about layoffs

WMC Health officials asserted the latest round of layoffs stemmed from an effort to “create a more efficient operating structure.”

The job cuts were realigning the system’s operations “by centralizing services to better leverage the strengths” of its network and to ensure the long-term health of its hospitals, the officials said, referring to WMC Health’s nine hospitals across Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Delaware counties.

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What hospital workers’ union says

WMC Health on Nov. 5 notified its workers represented by the 1199 SEIU union of the recent layoffs but didn’t disclose which administrative positions would be cut, Angela Lane, the union’s regional vice president, said.

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A total of 28 administrative positions were being cut at WMC Health’s hospitals and facilities in Rockland and Orange counties, which are affiliated with Bon Secours Charity Health System, Lane said.

The layoffs marked the latest example of WMC Health’s years-long strategy to centralize key medical services and leadership at its flagship hospital, Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, Lane asserted. WMC Health and Bon Secours merged in 2015.

“Nobody likes to drive across a bridge to go to a hospital,” Lane said, referring to WMC Health patients in Rockland and Orange counties being forced to cross the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to access care in Westchester County.

WMC Health officials in May described staffing changes in Rockland and Orange counties as “a realignment of services based on community needs.”

They also noted WMCHealth has invested in local hospitals, including a $40 million renovation and expansion at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis and a refurbishment of Good Samaritan Hospital’s labor and delivery suites.

WMC Health declined an interview request to discuss the latest round of layoffs.

Includes reporting by Nancy Cutler of USA TODAY Network