Hospital Announces Reduction in Workforce

HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital in Effingham has announced plans to reduce its workforce. A statement from the hospital indicates the reductions are "an effort to address continued changes in the health care industry."

Hospital President and CEO Theresa Rutherford said in the statement that the decision to reduce staff came after "many weeks of thoughtful consideration." Rutherford said, "Our leadership team spent many hours evaluating options for workflow redesign, cost-saving opportunities, and performance improvement. During this evaluation, several staffing adjustments were addressed by not filling vacant positions, work redesign, and retirements."

The statement reads that overall, the adjustments affected 22 colleagues and leaders throughout the organization. Of the 22 colleagues, 11 had their positions eliminated and were offered severance, eight received a reduction in hours, and three were offered alternative positions.

Rutherford said, "We appreciate the contributions of all of the colleagues who are affected by this change in our workforce. This is never an easy decision, but our Board of Directors and hospital administration are committed to continuing to provide the highest quality care to patients today and into the future."