By Debbie Carson, Online Editor
VERO BEACH — Faced with 156 fewer patients streaming into Indian River Medical Center over the last three months from last year, officials have decided to trim four hours from the workweek for some employees and cut the pay of management between 2 and 10 percent. The cuts amount to a projected savings of $1.5 million — which equates to the average salary of about 40 employees.
“We’re just trying to cut expenses,” said Betsy Whisman, director of marketing and public relations at the Indian River Medical Center. The average salary of non-management employees at the hospital was $37,500 before the cuts. Employees will also see a pay freeze throughout the rest of the year, according to Whisman. Hospital leaders are expected to review the recent personnel budget sometime next spring or early summer.
CEO Jeff Susi was the only one to take a 10 percent pay cut, Whisman said.
“That was his idea,” she added.
Executive management personnel took 5 percent pay cuts, while directors took a 3 percent cut. Managers took a 2 percent cut.
All hourly employees and some salaried non-management employees were tapped to work four hours less each week.
The hospital has found a need to adjust its expenses after seeing a decrease in the number of patients over the last couple months. While numbers are not available for July, Whisman said the hospital has seen 156 fewer patients from April through June over the same months last year.According to Whisman, though, the number of outpatient procedures are up 3 percent this year.
Whisman said that hospitals in general are seeing declining numbers of patients as more people are facing personal financial challenges and delaying elective procedures and medical care for less critical conditions.***Hospital patients by the numbers:Outpatient procedures: Up 3 percent this yearInpatient Admissions:-April: Down 9 percent from prior year = 129 less admissions-May: Down 1/2 percent from prior year = 7 less admissions-June: Down 1.6 percent from prior year = 20 less admissions-July: Numbers are not yet available
