Trinity Health furloughs employees, cuts to executive pay

Trinity Hospital announced that it will be furloughing some of its staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Trinity hospital announced a cost reduction plan Monday involving staff furloughs and cuts in executive pay.

Under the plan, roughly 350 employees were furloughed as of April 12th.

Trinity's middle management staff will undergo a salary deduction of 10-percent, with Trinity's executive team seeing a pay cut of 20 percent.

Exceptions will be made for essential staff needed for patient care.

President and CEO John M. Kutch says the healthcare provider has seen a 50-percent drop in overall business due to cancellations of elective surgeries and non-urgent medical appointments.

Rising medical costs due to an increasing number of COVID-19 patients and and rising costs of personal protective equipment also led to the changes.

"Given the economic challenges linked to federal and state requests, we have had to make tough operational decisions. We consider these cost-cutting measures to be targeted and temporary," said Kutch.

Vice president of Human Resources Renae Lenertz said that employees on furlough will remain employed and still have access to their health benefits.

"We expect these furloughs to last no more than 60 to 90 days; when patient volumes return, we plan to restore services and bring these employees back," Lenertz said.

Furloughed staff may use their paid time off to supplement income, or apply for unemployment benefits.

Trinity Health is not alone. Many medical providers across the country are making similar moves.

Last week the Mayo Clinic announced a series of pay cuts through the end of the year, as well as furloughs to some hourly employees.