Saint Al's says it will lay off 66 people, citing skyrocketing bad debt

Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise announced 66 layoffs on Monday and said its patients' skyrocketing bad debt and charity care are to blame.

No nursing staff will be laid off, with the possible exception of some positions at the Franklin House, a crisis facility for the mentally ill that is funded through private and public sources, a hospital spokeswoman said early Monday afternoon.

None of the rest are nurses, hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Krajnik said.

In a news release, Saint Alphonsus said the limited number of layoffs to sustain core patient services and programs of the hospital with minimal impact to direct patient care.

Less than two percent of the Saint Alphonsus workforce will lose their jobs, the hospital said in its news release. St. Alphonsus is one of the biggest employers in the Treasure Valley, with more than 3,000 full and part-time employees.

Laid off workers will get competitive separation packages based on years of service and employment status. In addition, Saint Alphonsus will provide outplacement support, and assistance with finding employment.

The most significant impact to Saint Alphonsus has been seen in reimbursement indicators, and in rising bad debt and charity care.

In the first five months of fiscal year 2009, bad debt rose 13.6 percent and charity care increased 40.7 percent over the same period in 2008. This represents, respectively, a $3 million and a $5.7 million increase on an annualized basis.

Those levels are expected to keep going up as reimbursements will decline from state and federal sources.

"Saint Alphonsus is committed to providing the highest quality patient care and we will always maintain the necessary resources and staff to ensure we meet those standards," said Rick O'Connell, Saint Alphonsus interim chief operating officer.

"Reducing our workforce, along with other performance improvement initiatives, represents a proactive commitment to the community and our constituents to maintain a strong, efficient health care system even in tough economic times," O'Connell said.

A variety of other expense reduction measures have been and will continue to be implemented over the past six months, including aggressive management of medical supplies, postponing educational events and travel, reducing contract labor, limiting capital spending, curtailing discretionary expenses, working with physicians to reduce cost and eliminate waste, and streamlining administrative operations.

Colleen LaMay: 377-6448