Trinity Health Michigan will furlough about 2,500 employees and cut executive pay as it deals with the financial impact from coronavirus on its eight hospitals, medical centers and other healthcare facilities in Michigan.

Another 1,500 of the Catholic healthcare company's approximately 28,000 staff and employees in Michigan will be redeployed to other jobs as required to address effects the coronavirus disease is having on the health system's workforce, Casalou said.

The Michigan branch of the Livonia-based health system announced the plan Wednesday to address the financial impact from coronavirus on its eight hospitals, medical centers and other healthcare facilities in Michigan, said Rob Casalou, its Michigan market president.

About 83 senior executives in Trinity Michigan will take a temporary base pay reduction ranging from 15% to 25%, effective next week, with the more senior people taking a higher percentage reduction, Casalou said.

"Management should lead by example for the sacrifices made by all dealing with this crisis," said Casalou, adding that Trinity Health national CEO Michael Slubowski will take 50% decrease in base pay.

Clinical staff who are being redeployed include operating room and catheter department nurses and doctors, many of whom have been idled since elective surgeries and other procedures have been halted, he said.

"Fifty to 60 percent of our revenue is gone (projected on a monthly basis starting early March) and expenses, including personal protective equipment for our employees, are up," said Casalou. "Trinity national and our CEO Mike Slubowski invited me (and other regional executives) to be part of the plan."

Casalou said the amount of expense reduction hasn't been calculated, but the reductions in employees and other moves are based on keeping frontline, or essential, clinical staff and employees in place for patient care.

Another 10% of the workforce, about 2,500 employees, cannot be redeployed and must be temporarily furloughed without pay, effective today, Casalou said.

"They have opportunities to use PTO. We are developing programs and continuing benefits," said Casalou, adding the employees are a variety of administrators in medical practices, human resources, finance, marketing and communications.

Trinity Health, a 92-hospital Catholic system in 22 states, is based in Livonia with Michigan being the largest of the system's regions with annual revenue of about $3.5 billion.

Each of Trinity's regions will make independent decisions on staffing and expense reductions, Casalou said.

"My plan is done. Trinity national left it to us how to effect the changes. There was a master plan to reduce executive compensation," Casalou said.

Nationally, Trinity Health employs 129,000, including 7,500 physicians and clinicians. It has annual operating revenue of $18.3 billion, assets of nearly $27 billion and returns about $1.2 billion to communities each year in charity care and other community benefit programs.

"Trinity Health Michigan to furlough 2,500, cut executive pay due to COVID-19" originally appeared in Crain's Detroit Business.