Name: Banner Health, Arizona's largest health system, to implement pay cuts and furloughs
Brand: azcentral.com
SKU: azcentral-com-13
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Banner Health, Arizona's largest health system, to implement pay cuts and furloughs

preview

Get the newsShare This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutSome employees of Banner Health are subject to furloughs and pay cuts while those who are directly caring for COVID-19 patients will get a bonus.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.Please be polite.It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.If you see comments in violation of our , please report them.CLOSEPhoenix-based Banner Health, which is Arizona's largest private employer, will impose "short-term" furloughs and pay cuts for some employees, company officials confirmed Monday.Other major hospitals and hospital systems have announced similar cost-cutting reductions for employees in response to&nbsp;changing economic conditions and state policies related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.Banner Health, which has approximately 43,000 employees in Arizona, is starting the furloughs this week. The nonprofit company anticipates that the measures will affect 5% to 7%&nbsp;of its workforce, or up to 3,000 Arizona employees. The company says the furloughs are temporary and employees will be eligible for unemployment benefits, including an extra $600 per week provided by Arizona via the federal CARES Act.For more stories that matter:&nbsp;"This program is being implemented based upon workload and, while on this status, team members will have their medical, dental and vision benefit premiums paid in full by Banner," the company said in a statement. "For many team members, this may be just be two weeks long as we anticipate work may increase in many areas in the coming weeks."While Banner said some employees are extremely busy addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, elective surgeries and non-life-threatening procedures are on hold, which for some health care workers means fewer patients and a reduction in work.All senior leaders, including senior vice presidents, presidents, vice presidents and CEOs, will take up to a 20% reduction in pay beginning in May, Banner said. The company employs a total of 52,000 people across six states.CLOSEBanner Health sends nurses to Colorado to help deal with coronavirus, which is more prevalent in Colorado."We are doing our very best to be nimble, responsive and supportive of our team members’ needs as conditions rapidly change during the COVID-19 pandemic," a company statement says.In addition to furloughs, Banner has made the following financial changes related to COVID-19:Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's executive orders&nbsp;halting&nbsp;elective surgeries, expanding hospital bed capacity and requiring&nbsp;non-essential workers&nbsp;to stay at home have affected routine medical care across the state. Also, hospitals have had to spend money on preparing to care for COVID-19 patients, including expanding their bed capacity by 50% by&nbsp;April 24.Government officials have provided the public with little information about the impact of the new coronavirus in Arizona.&nbsp; COVID-19 preparations, combined with decreases in emergency room visits and patient visits overall, have resulted in massive revenue losses.The Mayo Clinic, which has health facilities in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, announced last month that after April 28, "temporary furloughs of some staff and salary reductions will be required."The health system said that halting elective surgeries&nbsp;— something Mayo began prior to Ducey's order&nbsp;— was the right decision, but that it eliminated most revenue at a time when Mayo is making investments to develop and expand testing, conduct research to help stop the pandemic&nbsp;and realign facilities and care teams to treat patients ill with COVID-19.An analysis by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association shows Arizona hospitals are reporting revenue losses of 30% to 40% because of the cancellation of elective procedures and a reduction in emergency department visits. Statewide,&nbsp;that is a revenue reduction of $430 million to $575 million per month.The hospital association has asked Ducey to relax his executive orders on halting elective surgeries and on expanding hospital bed capacity, citing recent modeling projections that indicate Arizona will not be as hard-hit by the disease as previously was predicted.Reach the reporter at or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter .As a service, we are offering coverage related to public safety free of charge. If you want to support local journalism, .MORE RESOURCES: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/health/2020/04/20/banner-health-implement-pay-cuts-and-furloughs-arizona-coronavirus-covid-19/5165992002/to help improve our site experience!More Stories

Get the newsShare This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutSome employees of Banner Health are subject to furloughs and pay cuts while those who are directly caring for COVID-19 patients will get a bonus.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to...

public

Stephanie Innes

Award-winning local news from Arizona and metro Phoenix | The Arizona Republic in the streets 🗞️,  @azcentral  in the tweets (and online) | Instagram: azcentral

Banner Health, Arizona's largest health system, to implement pay cuts and furloughs

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS