Summa Health confirmed Wednesday it is laying off employees, but declined to specify how many jobs were cut or what those employees do for the Akron-based hospital system.
The Beacon Journal learned of the layoffs late Wednesday afternoon from an anonymous caller to the newspaper. The caller said about 100 people lost their jobs.
Summa Health is Summit County’s largest employer with about 9,000 workers.
Summa Health spokesman Mike Bernstein confirmed in an email that there had been a staff reduction. Summa declined to respond to questions about when the layoffs happened, how many people were involved and whether more employees could lose their jobs.
“The reality is, as the delivery of health care continues to evolve, we continue to see changes to the staffing levels of health care organizations across the nation and throughout northeast Ohio,” Bernstein said in the statement.
As Summa tries to move away from its “costly fee-for-service model of care” in which hospitals are paid based on services provided toward a “population health model,” Bernstein said officials are not only clinically responsible for care, but also financially accountable for health outcomes.
“To achieve this vision, we must sometimes make difficult decisions that are ultimately in the best interests of the people we serve,” he said. “By doing so we are able to remain focused on aligning patients with total health, empowering decision making and continuously striving for new and better health solutions across the continuum of care.”
The layoffs come as Summa faces several challenges, according to its latest financial disclosure, which covers the first six months of 2016.
Admissions at its fully owned hospitals — Akron City, St. Thomas and Barberton — dropped by 1,641 the first half of 2016 compared to the same time frame in 2015. Summa hospitals’ occupancy rate for that time period fell from 69.3 percent in 2015 to 61.8 percent in 2016 and outpatient visits dropped by nearly 10,000.
At the same time, Summa’s overall operations cut $26 million in expenses compared to 2015.
Although it spent $8 million more on salaries and wages, Summa made other trims including: $5 million in employee benefits, $8 million in contracts and professional fees and $505,000 in materials and supplies.
Bottom line: Summa’s consolidated system generated operating income of $13.5 million for the first six months of 2016, a hefty boost compared to the same time period in 2015, when it generated $10.1 million.
News of the layoffs by Summa comes about six months after the health system unveiled plans to pump $350 million into its facilities, including construction of two new buildings — a six-story tower that will serve as Summa Akron City Hospital’s main entrance and a separate 50,000-square-foot medical center nearby off East Market Street.
The layoffs won’t affect Summa’s construction plans, Bernstein said.
Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com.