Dive Brief:
- Prime Healthcare is cutting more than 100 roles at eight Illinois hospitals it acquired from Ascension earlier this year, a company spokesperson confirmed to Healthcare Dive.
- Most of the reductions took place on Friday, while the remaining cuts will take place through July, the spokesperson said. The cuts impact fewer than 1% of the roughly 14,000 workers employed at the affected facilities — 13,000 that stayed on through Prime’s acquisition and 1,000 in newly created roles.
- The reductions attempt to consolidate a “small number” of positions that were either duplicated or “not aligned with the care model and service line offerings” after the acquisition, according to the spokesperson. Most of the roles cut don’t involve direct patient care, and no union roles are being impacted, they said.
Dive Insight:
Comparable positions are being offered for employees, and affected individuals are encourages to apply to more than 900 open positions across Prime’s Illinois facilities, the spokesperson said.
Ontario, California-based Prime announced its intention to acquire nine hospitals and four care sites in Illinois from Ascension in July for approximately $375 million. Ascension St. Elizabeth in Chicago, originally included in the deal, was shuttered before the deal closed in March.
The acquisition, the largest in Prime’s history, expanded the health system’s presence in Illinois. As part of the deal, Prime agreed to invest $250 million into the facilities through facility upgrades, substantial technology investments and system updates.
Prime, which operates over 51 hospitals and 360 outpatient facilities in 14 states, says it has begun fulfilling its investment commitment despite the Illinois facilities collectively losing nearly $200 million in the past year.
Still, the health system has caught flak for shuttering some service lines after the acquisition.
Last month, Democratic Illinois senators Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth sent a letter to Prime CEO Prem Reddy after the hospital operator suspended pediatric services at one of its hospitals, withdrew a trauma designation at a medical center and canceled obstetric and maternal care at another hospital in Kankakee, Illinois.
“Prime Healthcare has only operated these eight Illinois hospitals for two months, and there are already profound concerns about patients losing access to care,” the senators said.
Other health systems have cut roles in recent months as hospitals face financial headwinds, including PeaceHealth, Mass General Brigham, Jefferson Health and Lehigh Valley Health Network.
