Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy furloughs 575 workers as COVID-19 keeps patients away
Nearly 600 Children’s Mercy employees will be furloughed for up to two months beginning Sunday as the hospital deals with a “crushing” financial crunch caused by a loss of business during the coronavirus pandemic.
Top executives will lose some of their pay as well — ranging from 20 percent for vice presidents to 30 percent for chief executive officer Paul Kempinski, the hospital announced Thursday.
With fewer patients coming in, the hospital is losing net revenue of about $1 million a day, the hospital said.
“In order to keep our community safe and to prepare to care for COVID-19 patients, last month we suspended elective procedures and limited outpatient clinic visits,” Kempinski, CEO and president, said in a statement.
This is what happened next: Surgeries and outpatient visits are down by more than 70%, urgent care down by 67%, and emergency room traffic has declined by 57%, the hospital said.
Hospital admissions are also down 32% according to the hospital’s statement. Children are not at risk for the virus as much, and the hospital has treated only four cases of COVID-19 so far, the hospital said.
“COVID-19 is having a crushing, negative impact on patient care access, our employees and our financial performance,” Kempinski said.
The hospital had already taken several cost-saving measures. It eliminated more than 200 vacant positions and suspended most of its capital spending, it said.
More than 2,500 employees have been working from home, while “another 350 employees are at home and not working, or are working reduced hours,” the hospital said.
To save jobs, about 150 employees have been reassigned to different roles, such as screening colleagues for COVID-19, the hospital said.
Being furloughed allows employees to file for unemployment benefits, Kempinski said, and the hospital will continue to pay their medical and dental coverage premiums.
“We are hopeful that once the pandemic abates and the stay-at-home orders are lifted, we will be able to ramp back up to normal activity and continue caring for the patients and families of our region,” he said.
Part of the pay the executives are losing will go into an emergency fund for employees and patients’ families who need help, the hospital said.
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