HUNTINGTON — Forty people lost their jobs at Cabell Huntington Hospital on Tuesday, as part of an overall expense reduction plan at the hospital.

Most are supervisory and management personnel from departments throughout the hospital, said Brent A. Marsteller, president and chief executive officer of Cabell Huntington Hospital. He said the cuts will not affect direct patient care.

Marsteller said the notification to employees, which began Tuesday morning and continued through the afternoon, came as a shock and disappointment to many of those let go.

“It’s a tough thing to do. You do this with a lot of empathy and forethought,” he said.

Talk of job reductions had been taking place for a couple of months, he said. All of the employees affected will receive severance packages and job placement assistance.
Staff said the plan is a result of the recent economic downtown, unstable financial markets, declining reimbursement and rising costs.

“The economy has been bad for everybody,” Marsteller said.

While hospitals in the past have largely been unaffected by faltering economies, Marsteller said Cabell Huntington Hospital has been hurt. He said the hospital is seeing a decrease in investment income, an increase in uncompensated uninsured or underinsured patients, and rising costs.

“Our attempt is to flatten the organization,” he said, adding that less layers of management will improve patient care and cut costs.

While the positions cut are being eliminated, the hospital will continue to grow and hire in other areas, Marsteller said.

He said the hospital continues to grow in patient volume, revenue, physicians and services.

“Consequently, we’re now experiencing some growing pains that require us to take this difficult action to reduce our expense structure, so our hospital can continue to respond aggressively to future growth opportunities and meet the growing health care needs of our community and region,” he said.

He said projects like the opening of an additional nursing unit and the creation of a children’s hospital remain “on target.”

At this time, Marsteller said no other jobs are in jeopardy.

Lori Wolfe

Lori Wolfe/The Herald-Dispatch Cabell Huntington Hospital's main entrance.

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