Brattleboro Memorial Hospital trims staff as part of financial reset

Staffing changes were spread across support staff, leadership, and administrative areas.

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital has cut nine jobs as leaders continue a broader effort to stabilize the organization’s finances and adjust staffing levels to patient demand.

The employees were informed Monday, and hospital leaders said only one of the eliminated positions involved direct contact with patients. Dr. Elizabeth McLarney, acting co-CEO, said the remaining jobs were in support functions. Dr. Tony Blofson, the hospital’s other acting co-CEO, said the changes are expected to touch about eight departments.

Hospital officials said the reduction is intended to help improve the hospital’s financial footing while preserving care standards. Blofson estimated the move will save more than $800,000. He also said the hospital’s staffing plan for the coming budget would include about 612 people on payroll, representing roughly 450 full-time equivalent positions, compared with about 520 FTEs in the current budget.

McLarney said the staffing changes were spread across support staff, leadership, and administrative areas. She added that the hospital is being careful about which vacancies it fills and is looking for ways to reorganize work more efficiently.

The hospital’s leaders said they do not expect additional layoffs in the budget now under review by state regulators. Instead, they said they will keep watching patient volume and staffing patterns, then revisit the numbers as conditions change.

David Sanville, an executive financial consultant working with the hospital, said an earlier round of management reductions last fall was part of the same effort to resize operations. He said the hospital is continuing to evaluate staffing, volume, and resource allocation on a regular basis.

Sanville said the hospital’s financial problems are the result of multiple pressures rather than a single cause. He said progress has been made, but more work remains.

In announcing the cuts Monday, McLarney said the decision was difficult and was not based on the performance or commitment of the employees whose positions were eliminated. The hospital also said it understands the effect the reduction will have on workers and their families and plans to provide communication, dignity, fairness, respect, and transition support during the process.