JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)- Ballad Health President and CEO Alan Levine announced furloughs and pay cuts Wednesday amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

While he did not specify what positions, Levine said there are 1,300 team members that will be furloughed. He said about 1,100 of those positions are in Tennessee and about 200-250 positions are in Virginia.

Ballad Health employs about 15,000 team members.

Many of those employees, Levine said, have suffered reduced hours since Ballad suspended all its elective procedures. A furlough will help them get unemployment benefits, he said.

Furloughs will begin on Friday, Levine said, and the length of the furlough will depend from person-to-person. Employees may be called back to work at any time, he added.

“Our plan is to revisit this within 60 days, but it’s going to be an ongoing issue,” he said during the conference. “There are going to be people called back before the end of that 60-day period depending on the needs of the organization.”

@alevine014: The corporate, administrative furlough is 600+ people. About 1,100 of the total are in TN, about 200-250 are in VA, that’s largely because the majority of our corporate functions are in TN. We’re going to reevaluate in 60 days. #COVID19 — Ballad Health (@BalladHealth) April 8, 2020

@alevine014: The furlough affects less than 10% of our workforce. 70% of the TMs affected will virtually maintain at or close to, their standard income. The total number of team members is about 1,300. Our TMs are being notified of this as we speak. #COVID19 — Ballad Health (@BalladHealth) April 8, 2020

Furloughed team members will receive full health and pharmacy benefits from Ballad, Levine said, and about 70% of them will be able to sustain their pay through federal and state health benefits.

Tennessee workers who make less than $45,500 per year and Virginian employees who make less than $50,586 per year will receive more money from unemployment benefits than through their current pay at Ballad, Levine said.

Ballad Health could have a hard time crawling out of a financial hole on the other side of the pandemic, Levine continued. The organization is projected to lose about $155 million in the next 90 days, he said, adding that he doesn’t expect to see that cash come back.

“I think there’s going to be a period of time where people are going to be very slow to return to the healthcare setting,” he said. “You’re seeing a huge expansion of telemedicine now, which is a good thing, but you’re going to find a lot of people that realize they don’t have to return back to a doctor’s office or a clinical setting because the use of technology may now replace that.”

He said 70% of the employees affected by the furlough will be able to sustain their pay through the federal unemployment benefits. — WJHL (@WJHL11) April 8, 2020

The Tennessee team members won't have to apply, Ballad has handled that, Levine said. They will have to go online weekly and validate that they are still unemployed.



Team members on furlough will receive full health and pharmacy benefits from Ballad. — WJHL (@WJHL11) April 8, 2020

Furloughed employees may be recalled back to work, Levine said. A healthy employee who elects not to come back to work after a recall will be considered a voluntary resignee, he said, and that information will be sent to the state unemployment office.

While some employees are being furloughed, the organization is guaranteeing full shifts for what Levine called “front-line” employees – registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), respiratory therapists and nursing assistants.

“We need you here now, we need you in the event there’s a surge,” Levine said.

Levine said that RNs, LPNs, respiratory therapists and nursing assistants are on the front line, and Ballad is guaranteeing those full-time shifts for those employees. — WJHL (@WJHL11) April 8, 2020

He referenced reports of healthcare professionals going to COVID-19 hotspots to aid in care there. He cautioned local healthcare workers from taking similar action because it could detract from their ability to help locally.

“If you travel and you come back, you’re going to have to be quarantined for 14 days,” he said. “If we get a surge here, that means we can’t use your skills here where you’re needed.”

He said 70% of the employees affected by the furlough will be able to sustain their pay through the federal unemployment benefits. — WJHL (@WJHL11) April 8, 2020

He added that employees who choose to go to hotspots to help won’t be considered as “resigned” if they are called back from furlough and must be quarantined.

Levine said the goal is to “bring all of our team members back,” but said the health system will have to continue to shoulder the financial blows from the economic impacts of the virus.

"Why in the world would any rational health system cut their team members' pay, or cut their hours, and deprive them of a benefit that Congress unanimously, explicitly wanted them to benefit from?" Levine said. — WJHL (@WJHL11) April 8, 2020

Administrative employees affected by the furlough may also cash out their PTO, Levine said, but won’t be allowing those employees to borrow past their allotted PTO as he said other health systems in the nation are doing. Employees may also withdraw up to $100,000 of their retirement without penalty.

He added that positions of Senior Vice President and above positions will be taking a 20% reduction in pay for 60 days, Levine said, effective on Sunday.

Assistant Vice President and Vice Presidents will have pay reduced by 10% in that same 60 days, he annoucned.

“It’s difficult to make decisions like this,” Levine said. “We certainly don’t want to be making decisions like this if we’re not demonstrating to our team members that we’re not willing to do the same thing.”

SEE ALSO: Ballad Health CEO announces he will forego 100% of pay over next 60 days, giving it to employee assistance fund

You can watch the entire news conference here: