Blessing Health System will cut 150 positions “in response to rising costs of doing business and challenges unique to the healthcare industry.”

QUINCY — Matt Rolando learned he had been fired from his job at Blessing Health System Tuesday morning while he was lying in bed at Blessing Hospital.

“It was cold and unprofessional,” Rowland said. “But it seems to follow the recent cultural shift in the Blessing Health System, which is cold and unprofessional.”

Rolando’s position was one of about 150 eliminated Tuesday, according to an email sent to employees on behalf of Blessing Health System president and CEO Maureen Kahn. A similar message was emailed to employees on Tuesday.

According to a press release issued at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Blessing Health is downsizing its organization “to reduce the cost of doing business due to inflation, reduce the burden of healthcare costs, and reduce the burden on patients.” To meet the unique challenges of the healthcare industry, where demand for treatments is changing.”

According to the release, most of the positions removed (about 88) are vacant and remain vacant. For the remaining positions, Blessing offered staff severance packages, offered new positions, or offered reductions in current full-time positions.

Rolando has worked as a systems and network administrator for Blessing’s Information Systems division for the past five years. He was admitted to Blessing Hospital on Sunday night with chest pains and eventually learned he had a blood clot in his lungs.

Rolando had an idea that something might happen when he received an email Monday night informing him of a mandatory face-to-face meeting Tuesday morning with Blessing’s chief technology officer, Lea Ann Eickelschulte. rice field.

“I’ve never had a meeting like that before, so it didn’t sound right,” Rowland said.

He said he had sent a reply to an administrative assistant at Eickelschulte explaining that he was in the hospital and could not meet in person.

“And she was like, ‘Oh, let’s change that,'” Rowland said. “This morning, as I was lying in the hospital, they called to release me. There’s the whole script and everything they go through. It’s so cold and calculated.” They answered no questions and offered a week of non-negotiable severance pay.

In a press release, Khan said Tuesday was “a difficult day for (the laid off employees) and for Blessing.”

“People’s lives are affected,” she said. “Healthcare providers across the country are facing pressures and challenges like they have never experienced before. We are addressing this challenge and maintaining our commitment by becoming a leaner organization to increase our efficiency and effectiveness in providing quality care during this challenging time. increase.

“As part of this effort, we are also exploring options to deliver new or current services in new ways that meet changing patient care demands, improve access and reduce costs.”

Muddy River News reached out to Blessing officials for an interview with Khan. I replied. This statement would say it all. “

Blessing Health Systems announced on September 1 that it will close its Keokuk, Iowa hospital on October 1 to focus medical resources in the area on clinic-based outpatient care. The level of inpatient and emergency care demand does not support the investment required to operate a 49-bed hospital and a 24/7 emergency room, according to the press release.

Rolando said he thought bad things were “on the horizon” when he learned last week that Blessing had canceled its annual employee conference series.

“No explanation as to why. ‘No, we don’t have them,'” Rowland said. We were already pretty flimsy[in information systems]so I didn’t expect to be laid off.”

Rolando said the Blessing Health System’s culture is “away from” caring for employees and caring for the community.

“No loyalty,” he said. “I worked here for nearly five years and put in extra hours each week to make sure the system was working so that patients received the best possible care. (Blessing) has made a big turn into a business, not a healthcare organization, they’re worried about profits and it shows.”

A list of top employers in Quincy and Adams counties on the Great River Economic Development Foundation website lists Blessing Health System as having 2,914 local employees and 3,498 company-wide employees. is shown.