ValleyCare Northside cuts 56 full-time jobs in restructuring

ValleyCare Northside cuts 56 full-time jobs in restructuring

YOUNGSTOWN

ValleyCare Northside Medical Center is eliminating the equivalent of about 56.4 full-time positions as it restructures, Kirk Ray, chief executive officer, told hospital employees and volunteers in a Wednesday memorandum.

“These changes will primarily affect positions in nursing, respiratory, imaging and laboratory,” including both union and non-union positions, Ray added.

“Our team members affected by these changes have served Northside and this community with dedication and we thank them,” he added.

The hospital is combining its same day care and post procedure care holding areas into one unit and its orthopedic and medical and surgical units into another, while still providing primarily private patient rooms, he announced.

He cited the lower patient volumes and declining reimbursements, which have affected hospitals nationally, with national hospital patient volumes having declined for more than a decade as treatment advances have made more services available on an outpatient basis.

“Northside is not immune to these challenges and has also experienced significant volume declines this year,” he added.

“We will never compromise on quality, compassion or patient safety,” Ray vowed.