KentuckyOne Health announces layoffs, but not how many
“The many steps we have taken so far across KentuckyOne Health to reduce our expenses to match our revenue have not been enough,” the company says on the employee page of its website. “We are saddened that we must now eliminate some positions across KentuckyOne. The current systemwide staff reductions will generally be complete by the end of February.” The statement continues, “These reductions, in addition to becoming more operationally efficient, will help us reverse the system’s financial losses to sustain KentuckyOne into the future.”
The company sent a statement to journalists saying staff reductions are needed to “reach our goal to become a fully integrated, financially stable health system within the next two years.” Cheryl Truman of the Lexington Herald-Leader notes that on Feb. 7, President and CEO Ruth Brinkley said in a statement on the employee website, “The changes in health care are greater and have come faster than we expected. . . . We are now paid based on the quality and efficiency of the care we provide, not how much care we provide.”
She said the company would act “to improve our performance now and over the long term, balancing access, quality and cost.”
KentuckyOne Health was formed in 2012 by merger of the Saint Joseph Health System, Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s HealthCare. Later that year, “The organization formed a partnership with University of Louisville Hospital,” Truman notes.