I propose all headlines like this be followed with (ObamaCare!)
Clearly this must be Bush’s fault.
Thanks to Obama she probably wouldn't survive if she went in again.
We once had a great healthcare system. But we exchanged it for something like the UK has.
of course they'll blame the economy, but the biggest reason is that Medicare and Medicaid is not paying the true cost of service....
add in charity care, and care to people that don't buy insurance who then may or may not pay....
Notice the "this year." It doesn't say in the history of the hospital so we don't know if this is anything that major or not. Many of those jobs were vacant so it might be more of a bookkeeping situation where job titles, duties, or departments change.
1. Non profit hospitals operate with razor thin margins
2. Current market forces are delaying and even cancelling elective procedures
3. Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement schedules fall well below actual costs and so...
4. Disproportionate share hospitals are taking a bigger bath than normal.
But ultimately, I believe the real problem is structural. Hospitals are highly inefficient business operations. Half of their expenses are labor related, and their most expensive labor is elastic on a daily basis. They struggle to flex their staffing to patient volumes, but even if they are successful, an effective flex-down results in disgruntled employees seeking work elsewhere.
The employee dissatisfaction is understandable. How would you like to be hired as a full time nurse, or imaging tech, or pharmacist, and then be told to take a vacation day (if you have one) because workload is lower?
Many in the nursing profession complain about patient safety and overtime requirements, but their real concern should be not having enough work available on a consistent basis. It's already happening.