Mass layoff at PeaceHealth; union says cuts include RiverBend

This story has been updated with new information from SEIU Local 49.

PeaceHealth is making another wave of cuts, laying off hundreds of workers ranging from administrative staff to caregivers. Layoffs include staff at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, according to a health care union.

In an email to Lookout Eugene-Springfield, PeaceHealth spokesperson Jim Murez confirmed a 2.5% reduction in workforce and said, “The overwhelming majority of impacted positions are non-clinical and administrative Shared Services roles” and include “select caregiver roles.”

PeaceHealth has 16,000 caregivers across Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Murez did not clarify the total number of eliminated positions within each of the three states or specify how many are within Oregon’s network, including at RiverBend and other facilities in Lane County.

A public notice filed Oct. 28 shows PeaceHealth is eliminating 241 positions across various Washington campuses, which constitutes as a mass layoff under state law. The public notice lists jobs such as physical therapists and nurse managers.

No such notice has been filed in Oregon.

PeaceHealth is among the largest employers in Lane County. Several social media posts and comments circulated Wednesday from people who said they work at local PeaceHealth facilities and either received a call about layoffs or knew a co-worker who did.

Service Employees International Union Local 49 represents a range of health care workers including certified nursing assistants, emergency department technicians, housekeepers and more.

Alan Dubinsky, a spokesperson for the union, said in an email that PeaceHealth reduced staff at RiverBend with six of its members affected. The reduction comes as 2,000 SEIU Local 49 members are in labor negotiations with PeaceHealth.

The union did not specify how many of those members in negations work at RiverBend or other hospitals but said in a statement, “cutting the jobs of PeaceHealth caregivers is a step backward in what our hospitals and patients need, and PeaceHealth’s actions risk undermining patient care and adding unnecessary strain on the frontline caregivers who keep these hospitals running.”

The statement also said in part, “These layoffs come at a time when hospitals across our region are already struggling with short staffing, burnout and increasing patient needs.”

Another major union, the Oregon Nurses Association, confirmed that none of its members will be laid off in this round of cuts but called the decision troubling.

“PeaceHealth’s decision to cut care is a devastating blow to patients, caregivers and communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. This is just the latest example of PeaceHealth’s corporate executives choosing to put profits ahead of the people they are meant to serve,” spokesperson Kevin Mealy said in a statement on behalf of the nurses association.

“Cuts do not happen in a vacuum. Lost positions will lead to longer waits, less facetime between patients and providers, more unemployment and lower-quality health care for everyone. This latest round of cuts harms our health and fails PeaceHealth’s mission to serve our communities.”

PeaceHealth cut staff at RiverBend in May, as part of a networkwide 1% reduction estimated at about 162 employees. In September, it laid off three employees in its Oregon network, including Lane County positions. Each time, Murez, on behalf of the not-for-profit health care system, cited restructuring in response to changing community needs.

While trimming its workforce, PeaceHealth has pursued projects such as a new behavioral health facility and an urgent care clinic for children. PeaceHealth runs one of two emergency departments in the region, where patients face some of the state’s longest wait times.