NIAGARA FALLS: Memorial Medical Center cutting staff

Hospital confirms up to 25 employees being let go

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Close to 25 employees of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will begin 2010 searching for a new job.

Memorial President and CEO Joseph Ruffolo confirmed Wednesday that changes in the health care marketplace combined with budget cuts on the state and federal level have compelled the hospital to undertake a workforce reduction of nearly 3 percent, which amounts to about 25 full-time equivalent positions.

“The medical center remains strong and these adjustments will have no impact on our ability to deliver efficient, high-quality patient care,” Ruffolo said.

Notification to those affected by the cuts started this week, according to an internal memo sent Tuesday by Ruffolo to the hospital’s governing board, employees, medical staff and auxiliary board. The memo, obtained by the Niagara Gazette, points to the ongoing state budget that has forced health care providers to accept significant Medicaid revenue reductions as the primary reason for the hospital’s financial troubles.

“As a safety net hospital that serves a disproportionately high share of Medicaid and Medicare patients, we have been hit harder than most hospitals in the state by these government funding decisions,” Ruffolo wrote. “In fact, we are in the top five hospitals located in upstate New York hardest hit by the Medicaid reductions, estimated at $2.3 million per year.”

Ruffolo warned the governor’s proposed budget for 2010-11 is likely to contain even more proposed cuts for hospitals and nursing homes. He believes Memorial has done a “commendable job” of controlling costs and working within the constraints imposed by declining payment rates.

“But as we prepared our 2010 operating budget, it became apparent that we are forced to make some very difficult decisions in order to remain economically sustainable,” Ruffolo wrote in the memo. “As our economy continues to struggle, both locally and nationally, there can be no doubt that hospitals and nursing homes will remain targets by the state and federal government for further payment reductions.”

In addition to the almost 25 staffed jobs, the hospital will be eliminating an undisclosed number of vacant positions to help balance the 2010 budget. Additional information and descriptions of the type of positions being eliminated were not released.

“Announcements like this are never easy and we will work with the employees who are affected to help them through the difficult time,” Ruffolo said. “While we hope additional cuts won’t be necessary, there are no guarantees.”