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Catholic Health to furlough employees

Catholic Health announced Thursday that it will furlough employees beginning April 26.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The loss of elective surgeries and a drop in ER and primary care visits has forced Catholic Health to begin the process of furloughing employees.

Catholic Health announced Thursday they will furlough employees beginning April 26.

Catholic Health says the furloughs are necessary due to the multi-million dollar loss in revenue they usually receive from elective surgeries and ER and primary care visits due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Earlier this month, Catholic Health's senior leadership took up to a 20% pay reduction, but that was not enough. 

“Because we will not be able to resume full services at all our facilities for some time, we have made the extremely difficult decision to furlough associates throughout our system,” Catholic Health President & CEO Mark Sullivan said in a released statement.  “The steps we are taking are based on the needs of our system at this time and do not reflect our associates’ work performance, or the value we place on the care or services they provide. As always, high quality care and patient, resident, and associate safety remain our top priorities.” 

The furloughs will include up to 1,200 management and non-management in this first phase and will not affect patient care or any COVID-19 related services. “In times of crisis, we must make hard decisions to face the challenges before us, ensure we are able to meet the needs of our community, and provide for and protect our associates for the long-term,” Sullivan said.  “The hopeful news is, that in addition to discharging nearly 240 COVID-19 patients since this crisis began, we are building a strong recovery plan for the future.” 

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week that some elective surgeries can begin in some counties in that states that are not COVID-19 hot spots. 

“We have a measured, comprehensive plan to restore services across Catholic Health, while continuing to provide excellent care to our COVID-19 patients” Sullivan continued. “As we work toward emerging from this crisis, I want to thank our entire healthcare team for the sacrifices they are making to ensure we remain true to our mission and continue to provide the highest quality care to all.”  

Catholic Health says they will work with unions to develop a furlough plan for union employees.  Furloughs will be reevaluated in 30 days and employees will continue to receive their benefits. 

Kaleida Health announced Wednesday that it's offering employees the option of taking a temporary furlough, as the health-care system deals with financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health-care system announced the move on Wednesday in conjunction with 1199SEIU and CWA1168, which represent more than 8,000 Kaleida Health employees. Kaleida's employees will have the option of taking temporary unpaid leave.

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