BAYLOR SCOTT AND WHITE TO LAY OFF, FURLOUGH EMPLOYEES

  

Baylor Scott and White Health is preparing to lay off around 1,200 employees across its system as a result of financial difficulties caused by COVID-19.

The healthcare system will also temporarily reduce the salaries of senior executives, modify physician compensation models, and flex or furlough other staff members to accommodate what it calls “changing volumes”.  The layoffs will result in roughly a 3 percent reduction in the company’s workforce.

In a release issued Tuesday, Baylor Scott and White said early data is showing the economic impact of COVID-19 on its health system, and these changes are being implemented to “remain prepared and able to adapt in continued unpredictability”.

According to the release, the system recently extended its employee payment protection through June 7^th.  It said, as the system prepared for a possible surge of COVID-19 patients, it experienced a large drop in patient visits—between a 50 and 90 percent drop in patient volume—largely due to the suspension of non-urgent surgeries and procedures.

The release said staff in the College Station region will be affected by the layoffs, but there are no plans to close any facilities at this time.

Full release from Baylor Scott and White below:

Throughout the course of the pandemic, our focus has been on the safety and well-being of our patients and team members.  Early on, we made the decision to protect the pay of all employees through the end of May, and we recently extended that through June 7th.  We worked to reassure and safeguard our people through the uncertainty as we prepared for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients, yet experienced a drastic drop in visits, largely due to the suspension of non-urgent surgeries and procedures. 

Now, as early data is revealing the significant economic implications of the pandemic on Texans and the operational and financial implications on our health system, we are implementing changes to remain prepared and able to adapt in continued unpredictability. 

These changes include temporary salary reductions of senior executives, modified physician compensation models, flexing and furloughing of employees to accommodate changing volumes, and a reduction of our workforce of around 3%. While designed to better match our resources with evolving community needs, any decisions to part with our people are always very difficult. We are committed to supporting these team members’ transitions in every way possible.

We are committed to providing safe care environments for our patients and team members and we continue to see patients returning to our care sites.  In fact, as of this week, patient volumes at our clinics (in-person and telemedicine) were back to roughly 95% of pre-COVID levels, hospital admissions were back to roughly 92% and operating room cases were back to around 97% of pre-COVID levels. While patient volumes are steadily increasing, we remain in a financial recovery period during which we must plan for continued unpredictability.

The reduction in force will affect around 1,200 team members across the entire Baylor Scott & White Health system, including staff in the College Station Region. As early data is revealing the significant economic implications of the pandemic on Texans and the operational and financial implications on our health system, we are implementing changes to remain prepared and able to adapt in continued unpredictability. In the College Station Region, we will continue to provide the same services and offerings to our patients, and will have no facility closures at this time.