OSF HealthCare announces unpaid time off, salary reductions and transition of employees

Facing revenue losses during the COVID-19 crisis, OSF HealthCare, with hospitals in Ottawa, Mendota and a health center in Streator, is laying off some employees who don't work with patients and cutting administrative salaries, among other measures.

Moving forward for the short-term, most non-patient-facing employees will be subject to mandatory paid time off or, in some cases, unpaid leaves of absence, during which they can apply for the unemployment benefits enacted by the government, according to a press release issued Tuesday by OSF HealthCare. Employees will retain seniority and years of service and will continue to have benefits available during this time, including health insurance.

Also, OSF HealthCare is reducing the salaries of its top executives by at least 5%, with some leaders taking a 10% reduction.

Inpatient services, surgeries, clinic and OSF Urgo volumes have decreased significantly over the last three weeks as non-essential services have been shut down and communities are staying home to reduce the spread of the virus, according to OSF officials.

For the past several weeks, OSF has continued to staff its facilities according to the volume of patients being cared for, according to the press release. As volumes have continued to decline, OSF officials have been reviewing options, including moving employees on a volunteer basis to other areas of need during the crisis.

Retraining and moving employees has already been occurring across the hospital chain, particularly in southwest Chicago at the health system’s newest hospital, OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, where the number of positive cases remains high.

“It is important for the communities OSF has been called to serve for more than 142 years that we stabilize our financial position and protect our culture so we can continue to serve those communities, and our Mission Partners and their families in Illinois and Michigan,” said Mike Allen, CFO, OSF HealthCare, in a press statement. “Our priority remains equipping our frontlines with the resources they need to ensure the continuation of essential care, while protecting those providing that care.”

OSF officials said they are preparing to move into the next phase of its digital response to COVID-19, offering new ways of caring for individuals in their homes, and within its facilities, with digital solutions. OSF is in the process of filling these pandemic health worker roles with employees eligible to make the transition. This program is open to non-clinical staff as well as licensed clinicians and providers.

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF was one of the first to rapidly deploy digital health care options, which have allowed thousands to have their needs addressed and, where appropriate, care provided while staying safely at home.

Officials said it may seem unusual during an international pandemic, where hospitals and health care systems are seeing drastic increases in patients with life threatening respiratory conditions from COVID-19, concerns about finances would begin to emerge.

The hospital chain, which operates 14 hospitals in Illinois, has seen its revenue drop substantially since the COVID-19 crisis took effect in the area, according to the press release.