Grady Memorial Hospital cuts 150 jobs

Grady Memorial Hospital in March announced 150 job cuts, in response to severe economic pressures and an increase in indigent patients, officials said. Among those who left was the head of the Atlanta hospital’s cancer center.

The job cuts included about 140 layoffs, said hospital spokesman Matt Gove. About 10 of the positions were not filled. Many of the people were laid off immediately. They included staff in the departments that focus on purchasing, nurse scheduling, legal services and also include one ultrasound technician.

None of the eliminated positions will affect direct patient care, Gove said. The cuts are spread across several departments of the hospital, he said.

The cuts include the loss of Philip Lamson, the executive director of the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady, officials said.

Grady, metro Atlanta’s safety net care center and its only Level 1 trauma facility for life-threatening injuries, employs about 5,000 workers. It delivers more than $250 million in free care per year.

“We made cuts that the hospital can sustain,” Gove said.

The spiraling economy has led more needy people to seek care at Grady, officials said. Grady has seen a 35 percent increase in indigent patients since last July. At the same time, county and state officials are planning cuts in funding for the region’s largest hospital.

The hospital has experienced chronic money problems for years. Last year it ran a $37 million deficit.

Grady officials said the hospital could run out of cash this summer if Gov. Sonny Perdue’s proposed Medicaid cuts are approved.

The hospital is negotiating with the Fulton County Commission, which has threatened to reduce its Grady funding unless the hospital provides more accountability on county services. An agreement is in the works but has not been approved by the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority.

Grady is among many Georgia hospitals that have suffered under the failing economy. More than half of Georgia hospitals have cut staff or considered it, and more than one-third have reduced services or contemplated such a move, according to a recent survey by the Georgia Hospital Association.

The head of a community watchdog group said the Grady staff cuts were to be expected during such hard times.

“The reality is that churches are laying off, governments are laying off. Grady is not immune to this economy,” said the Rev. Tim McDonald of the Grady Coalition.

He said his group would monitor the hospital to make sure the cuts don’t reduce patient care.

— This article is a reprint from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.