Bristol Health Eliminating 31 Positions Amid Struggle With Pandemic Effects, Inflation

By Justin Muszynski, The Bristol Press

June 17, 2022

Bristol Health on Thursday announced it would be eliminating 31 positions, citing multiple reasons to include the effects of the pandemic and inflation.

In addition to the eliminations, hospital officials said the executive team at Bristol Hospital took a voluntary 8% reduction in their salaries.

“There was also a temporary change to our defined contribution retirement plan,” Bristol Health President and CEO Kurt Barwis said. “All of these labor related actions have resulted in $3.9 million in immediate savings.”

Bristol Health, one of the city’s largest employers, employs about 1,750 people.

“Bristol Health has been working hard to implement efficiency and supply chain opportunities with a reduction in annual operating cost of $5.5 million,” Barwis continued. “Combined labor, efficiency and supply chain reductions are expected to amount to $9.4 million annually.”

In announcing the position eliminations, Barwis cited a number of reasons why he said the changes were necessary.

“The current financial environment for health care institutions is extremely difficult due to the effects of the pandemic, Medicare Advantage abuse and our inability to get commercial insurers to increase our payment rates in response to unprecedented labor and supply cost inflation,” the hospital CEO said.

Among the 31 positions that were eliminated were both those that were filled and vacant. Of the 31, 10 were filled, the majority of which were management positions.

“These decisions were extremely difficult and painful to make,” Barwis acknowledged. “They were made after careful consideration of alternatives and with the best interest of our hospital, its mission and the needs of the community that we serve.”

According to Barwis, the eliminations “did not include any reduction in services nor will they impact the safety or quality of the services we provide.”

The Bristol Hospital President and CEO said the challenges the city’s hospital is facing are being felt all over the nation.

“Health Care organizations throughout the country are being challenged to ‘do more with less,’” Barwis said.

“The ‘more’ includes, but is not limited, to improving patient safety, quality and providing more services. The ‘less’ means fewer resources and funds with which to work. Health systems will be continually challenged, now and into the foreseeable future, to deliver quality services in the safest possible way more efficiently and effectively.”

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.