BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Medical Center Corp. on Friday began a series of layoffs and voluntary furloughs to help cover mounting costs related to Covid-19.
The Buffalo trauma hospital cited “disappointing” levels of federal funding assistance and continued expenses due to the virus. Thomas Quatroche Jr., president and CEO, told workers in a weekly video message the hospital would need to make $20 million in cuts this year to ensure its survival for the future.
“I’ve been at ECMC for 16 years and while we have had our ups and downs, I’ve never seen a time that so acutely affected our operations and finances in such a dramatic way,” he said. “While other hospitals in the area lost over $100 million last year, ECMC broke even and came into 2020 in a good financial position. However, we have lost $32 million to date and losses are mounting.”