{"id":1319926,"date":"2020-05-13T18:35:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T00:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=996418"},"modified":"2020-05-13T19:56:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T01:56:22","slug":"a-challenging-time-for-our-entire-valley-revenue-loss-leads-valley-view-to-cut-10-of-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/a-challenging-time-for-our-entire-valley-revenue-loss-leads-valley-view-to-cut-10-of-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018challenging time for our entire valley:\u2019 Revenue loss leads Valley View to cut 10% of workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-1024x768.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/IMG_7437-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Valley View Hospital<\/strong><br \/><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>At a time when people around the world are especially appreciative of health care workers, it may come as a shock to see the local hospital laying off 100 employees.<\/p>\n<p>But significant loss of revenue caused by COVID-19 led Valley View Hospital to lay off about 10% of its workforce \u2014 an \u201cunprecedented\u201d step for an unprecedented situation, CEO Dr. Brian Murphy said in an interview Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>In a May 8 email sent to employees, Murphy said the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a projected revenue reduction of $30-$45 million this year.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not the only revenue hit Valley View anticipates. To add insult to injury, \u201cWe project additional losses of $13.5 million annually due to increases in Medicaid enrollment,\u201d the email said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation gspi-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>To manage this reduction, cuts were made across the board, Murphy said, including at branches in Carbondale, Silt, Willits and Eagle, although all clinics will remain open.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had several senior executive-level people laid off. We looked for every opportunity. We made cuts in almost every single area in our system. When there was an opportunity to consolidate administrative roles and save a particularly high-salaried expense we had to target those areas that were going to sustain our reduction in expenses,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest cuts came from administrative positions, he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe approached it trying to preserve and protect our frontline patient caregivers and targeted more administrative support staff positions. Roughly 75% of the cuts came from administration and support roles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>In the email last week, Murphy said that \u201cthe executive team, including myself, [is] taking a 10% salary reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Valley View considered several factors into consideration when deciding who to let go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Longevity] certainly was a factor but [so were] performance, essential roles \u2026 and the opportunity to try to combine roles into a single individual [position]. \u2026 It was a bunch of factors and a bunch of targeted opportunities that we focused on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The cuts are not a temporary measure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur projections and understanding is that these are positions that won\u2019t come back,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Valley View remains ready for any future waves of COVID-19, Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are perfectly staffed and prepared to manage [COVID flare-ups]. \u2026 Our ability on the frontline to take care of our patients is fully intact,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>Those who have kept their jobs can expect to do more than before. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be squeezing more into the same amount of time,\u201d Murphy said of the reductions.<\/p>\n<p>The layoffs can only go so far in offsetting 2020 losses that could approach $60 million, but future layoffs are neither planned nor expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The cuts] are probably in the neighborhood of about 20% [of that amount],\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>Murphy doesn\u2019t expect the public to see much difference when visiting Valley View.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur hours of operation, our expansive service lines, our care coordination, all the historical components of our health care delivery system will remain in place, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll notice any changes. This is more behind-the-scenes, administrative roles and not directly impacting how we care for patients in our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Murphy said he doesn\u2019t expect the staff reduction to hinder the hospital\u2019s ability to earn revenue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy hope is obviously [that it wouldn\u2019t], that we\u2019ll be able to provide the same level of clinical care and ensuing revenue that that care provides us. We\u2019re really striving to do more with less and find opportunities to \u2026 be more efficient and yet still continue to provide all the services and care that we have historically provided,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Although he declined to get into specifics of severance packages, Murphy said, \u201cWe are going to make a very significant effort to continue helping our team members in their transitions to new opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Toward the beginning of the lockdown, Valley View made the decision to implement \u201cCOVID-19 supplemental pay at 100% of base salary\u201d for all employees. \u201cWe were going to ensure that everybody knew that we were going to pay them for two months,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>The supplemental pay came from Valley View reserves, Murphy said, adding that he has no regrets about that expenditure in light of recent cuts.<\/p>\n<p>While bringing a hospital district to voters at some point in the future might be a way of raising revenue, Valley View is not planning to go that route, Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have no near-term plans to do so. \u2026 We know that there are examples toward Aspen and Grand River but obviously those situations don\u2019t exist here for Valley View currently. We are doing everything we need to do to not rely on having to go outside of our own operations for support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Murphy said he\u2019s never seen anything like the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe word \u2018unprecedented\u2019 continues to be overutilized, but it so clearly distills what we\u2019ve been going through. This is a scenario that I don\u2019t think anyone that I\u2019ve ever been involved with professionally has ever experienced. It\u2019s put us in a position to challenge and try to be prepared for the unknown like nothing else I\u2019ve ever been a part of,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>The recent cuts have been hard on everyone, Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very sad time for Valley View, honestly. It\u2019s a very challenging time for our entire valley \u2026 and I really want people to know that these extremely difficult decisions were made to protect what in my opinion is our community\u2019s most valuable asset, and it is really difficult,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know we\u2019re going to get through these hard times, and we\u2019re going to continue to take care of our community and do it looking into the future in a manner that ensures that we provide the highest level of care locally to our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"mailto:cwertheim@postindependent.com\">cwertheim@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/a-challenging-time-for-our-entire-valley-revenue-loss-leads-valley-view-to-cut-10-of-workforce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Valley View Hospital At a time when people around the world are especially appreciative of health care workers, it may come as a shock to see the local hospital laying off 100 employees. But significant loss of revenue caused by COVID-19 led Valley View Hospital to lay off about 10% of its workforce \u2014 an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1319926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-03 22:47:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1319926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319927,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319926\/revisions\/1319927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1319926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1319926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1319926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}