Providence Health & Services is cutting more than 150 jobs across Oregon, the latest round of reductions as the state’s largest health system continues to confront significant financial strain.
The layoffs, announced Tuesday, affect employees across Providence’s hospitals, outpatient clinics and its insurance arm, Providence Health Plan.
Most of the eliminated positions do not involve direct patient care, officials said, but they did not indicate which services or locations would be affected.
Providence earlier this year eliminated about 250 jobs in Oregon, including frontline and non-clinical positions.
In a message to employees, Jennifer Burrows, chief executive of Providence Oregon, said the job cuts are part of the Catholic not-for-profit health system’s ongoing effort to steady its finances. She said Providence has been squeezed by rising costs and persistent workforce challenges that have grown more severe due to “recent policy changes and regulatory pressures.”
The Renton, Washington-based health system has a major footprint in Oregon, operating eight hospitals and more than 90 clinics across the state. Its insurance subsidiaries — Providence Health Plan and Providence Health Assurance — cover roughly 550,000 people through commercial, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans, according to its most recent financial filings.
Those filings show Providence Oregon posted an operating loss of nearly $255 million through the end of September.
Providence has said a 46-day strike that began in mid-January contributed to the deficit, as the system hired costly temporary staff to maintain services. New state laws requiring higher staffing levels, capping annual cost growth and expanding access to free and discounted care have also strained its finances, according to Providence’s financial disclosure.
To cut costs, Providence has already enacted several belt-tightening measures. Earlier this year, Providence CEO Erik Wexler announced a systemwide hiring freeze along with reductions in employee travel and community sponsorships. Providence officials have also warned that financial pressures were likely to persist through the rest of the year — and potentially beyond.
In August, Providence eliminated 128 jobs in Oregon that affected a wide range of union-represented and nonunion workers, including nurses, clinical staff, researchers and administrative employees.
That followed a broader reduction in June, when the health system cut 600 positions across its seven-state network, including 134 clinicians and administrative staff in Oregon.
On Tuesday, Burrows said Providence has made progress but would need to continue reshaping its operations to align expenses with revenue. She said Providence is supporting impacted employees and will try to place them in other roles when possible.
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