Layoffs Don’t Benefit Hospitals

Dean Gruner, MD, and Chris Van Gorder are not your everyday health system CEOs. Dr. Gruner is president and CEO of ThedaCare, a five-hospital system in Appleton, Wis., with roughly 6,100 employees. Mr. Van Gorder, a former police officer, is president and CEO of Scripps Health, a five-hospital system in San Diego with almost 13,000 employees.

The one thing both have in common? They each have instilled a “no layoff” philosophy, meaning their employees will not see layoff notices unless there is a catastrophic event or hospitals close down.

Both Dr. Gruner and Mr. Van Gorder emphasize the word “philosophy” because it is a mindset and collection of values held within their organizations. “Initially, we called it a policy, but a policy was an overstatement,” Dr. Gruner says. “But with this as a philosophy, layoffs are our absolutely last choice. We believe we can make some improvements instead of laying people off and invest in retraining those people so they can perform capably [in other roles].”

A “no layoff” philosophy among hospitals and health systems is almost unheard of today, as dozens of healthcare job eliminations are reported every month. Whether they are related to healthcare reform or generally constrained finances, hospital layoffs remain prevalent. However, Dr. Gruner and Mr. Van Gorder have adhered to these philosophies because they believe layoffs don’t actually accomplish anything worthwhile…

Choosen excerpts by JMM from

via 3 Reasons Why Layoffs Don’t Benefit Hospitals in the Long Run | Hospital Management & Administration.