Huntsville Hospital contractors and support staff were hit hardest by the reductions, but CEO David Spillers didn’t specify just how many workers were affected.
The hospital’s finances are hurting as it tries to procure equipment needed to treat COVID-19 patients. Additionally, with revenue-boosting elective surgeries halted, people urged to stay home, and workplaces shut down, the hospital has seen a steep drop in demand for services.
“It’s the absolutely worst financial situation you could think about,” Mr. Spillers told AL.com. “We’ve eliminated your business and probably the business that pays you best, all that elective business, and your costs have gone up preparing for this wave, this surge of patients that’s still not here. So we’re going to have to make some hard decisions.”
While scaling back nonessential staff, Huntsville Hospital is working to ensure it’s prepared for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients. Preparations include working with the Surgery Center of Huntsville, which Huntsville Hospital partially owns.
Surgery center nurses are “in the queue to work” at Huntsville Hospital, Mr. Spillers said. Human resources and operations teams are also figuring out how to best allocate hospital staff for direct patient care.
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