Hospital and health system news from across the country
Editor’s note: The following news has been compiled by Major Accounts Exchange (The MAX), health care’s leading provider of real-world intelligence for the supply chain. The MAX serves as a Supply Chain “Community” where senior-level executives can easily Find, Digest, and Act on vital business and market intelligence. For the latest news impacting the supply chains of over 1,200 IDNs and all the GPOs, visit http://www.uslifeline.com/
Georgia: Lower Oconee Community Hospital closes
Lower Oconee Community Hospital (Glenwood, Ga.) closed its doors due to financial problems. It is the fourth rural hospital in GA to close over the past two years and the eighth to close since 2000. The 25-bed critical access hospital hopes to restructure and reopen to provide sustainable medical services in the area, possibly in the form of an urgent care center. Some of the hospital’s 100 employees have been laid off. Lower Oconee suffered from high rates of unemployed and uninsured patients, coupled with heavy demands on staff time to handle claims processing from multiple insurance programs. Area residents will have to travel 30 miles to get emergency care.
Ohio: 700 Cleveland Clinic employees take early retirement, positions cut
Cleveland Clinic’s (Cleveland, Ohio) cost reduction efforts announced in September 2013 eliminated several hundred open positions, and led nearly 700 employees to accept early retirement packages. Cleveland Clinic plans to cut $330 million from its FY 2014 budget and offered 3,000 workers early retirement to minimize the number of layoffs. A Cleveland Clinic spokesman said some employees lost their jobs but did not cite a specific number.