Community Benefit, Not New Emergency Tower, Cause of Providence Everett Layoffs

The combination of 15 million dollars less in Medicaid reimbursements than budgeted and a 34 percent increase in charity care over the last year has Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett announcing the elimination of 150 – 175 positions.The Herald’s Julie Muhlstein broke the story yesterday online. Late yesterday afternoon I had a chance to talk with Providence spokesperson Teresa Wenta, who said, “we budgeted for the full impact of the tower, In fact, having the tower may soften the impact of the layoffs.” Wenta says its important to note that they are eliminating 150 – 175 positions, not people. She told me that the staffing formulas are complicated and they don’t yet know how many actual staffers will be affected. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of October. As far as the term “community benefit”, that’s a combination of the charity care that the hospital provides along with the costs of Medicaid expenses that are not reimbursed. Providence Regional Medical Center is also seeing a lower volume of patients than expected. Given the boom in the Everett area of medical facilities recently opened or under construction, I asked Wenta if she thought that there were too many medical facilities being built for our area. She replied that she could only speak to the Providence Regional Medical Center and that demand and projections for their facility were made more than a decade ago. Providence is one of the largest employers in Everett with more than three thousand employees.

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