Ministry Health Care to cut 500 jobs

MILWAUKEE — Ministry Health Care said Wednesday it plans to cut the equivalent of 500 full-time jobs across its statewide network of hospitals and clinics, including those in central Wisconsin.

"This is never an easy decision,” Ministry CEO Daniel Neufelder said late Wednesday afternoon in an interview with Gannett Central Wisconsin Media. “We recognize the decision to reduce the size of our workforce will impact many of our friends and colleagues.”

Ministry is based in Milwaukee but it is a major employer in central and northern Wisconsin, with hospitals and clinics in Marshfield, Weston, Wausau and Stevens Point, among other locations. It has 15 hospitals and 46 medical clinics in total across the state, and employs nearly 10,000 people.

Affinity Health System, which is owned by Ministry and includes clinics and hospitals in and around the Fox Cities, also will be affected by the cuts.

Ministry is reducing its workforce primarily because it has seen a decline in the number of patients over the past several months — a trend that is not likely to change soon, according to Neufelder. Compounding that problem: high-deductible health plans have made some people reluctant to seek medical services, and a larger share of patients are relying on Medicare and Medicaid, which do not cover the health care system's costs.

"We're reacting to the change in our patient volumes," Neufelder said.

In the end, Ministry intends to cut 500 full-time equivalents, or what represents the expense of 500 full-time employees working 40 hours per week. While one full-time equivalent can represent one full-time employee working 40 hours per week, it also can mean two part-time workers each working 20 hours per week, for example.

Ministry's plan entails other cost-saving measures, including consolidating positions, not filling open positions, not replacing people who resign or retire and adjusting employee hours, Neufelder said. That means the total number of people who will lose jobs they currently have will be far less than 500, according to Neufelder, although he was not able to provide a precise number on Wednesday.

The types of positions affected by the workforce reduction range widely, but they are more concentrated in support and administrative functions. Nurses, however, will be a different story: Ministry is working to recruit hundreds of nurses, Neufelder said.

Despite the cuts, Neufelder said he does not anticipate the availability of any medical services or procedures will change.

“We’re working very hard to continue to become more efficient so that we can hold down the rising cost of health care, to make it more affordable for the communities we serve, and this reduction helped us to do that,” Neufelder said.

Ministry employees were notified earlier this week of the cuts. The last day for employees losing their jobs will be Nov. 28.

Jonathan Anderson can be reached at jonathan.anderson@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-898-7010. Find him on Twitter as @jonathanderson.