William Russell, CEO of Three Rivers Health, has announced that a reduction in work force will take place over the next two weeks.

In a news release issued Monday afternoon (March 15th), Russell said this will affect 28 departments and regrettably, involve the elimination of 16 positions and the reduction of 45,000 hours worked.

The news release says that, over the past two years, Three Rivers Health has struggled to maintain current programs and services while enduring operating losses.  A significant contributor to these losses is the number of hours being used to produce the amount of care and services in light of lower demand.  This coupled with Michigan’s economy, pressures from lending institutions, and mandated information technology upgrades has had a direct impact on the financial position of Three Rivers Health.

According to Russell, the reduction in force to equalize hours to volumes is being implemented to return Three Rivers Health to financial viability and to continue and sustain the mission of quality healthcare.

Larry Clark, Chair of the Three Rivers Health Authority Board, said, “This move to right size creates the opportunity for Three Rivers Health to regain financial stability without compromising patient care or access and should insure long-term employment stability.  We remain committed to providing high quality healthcare to Three Rivers and the surrounding area.”

Three Rivers Health recorded  a net loss of more than $273,000 ($273,529) in January, an amount that was nearly $170,000 higher than the loss of just under $104,000 ($103,793) that was budgeted for the month.

The February meeting of the Authority Board included discussion regarding the development of “dashboards,” similar in concept to what drivers utilize in operating their vehicles, to provide information to better match staffing with volumes.