Stroger Condemns Health Layoffs as Assault on Care for Uninsured, Poor and Unemployed

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger condemned the move by management in the County's health system today to lay off hundreds of front-line workers in Cook County's health system, saying the move threatened core services for the uninsured, underinsured and unemployed workers and their families across Cook County. Health & Hospitals System management, apparently with the blessings of their independent board, issued pink slips today to almost 350 front-line workers at Cook County's three public hospitals, including nurses and other direct care workers. Today's layoffs are expected to be followed by another round of layoffs after January 1, bringing the total number of layoffs to more than 500. Most workers who received pink slips today are union workers with NNOC, which represents nursing staff, and with AFSCME and SEIU, although other collective bargaining units are hit, as well.

The layoffs include 35 nurses at Stroger Hospital; almost 100 clinical staff, including nurses, at Oak Forest Hospital; and more than a dozen nursing staff at Provident Hospital. Management will lay off 90 people in the second phase of layoffs from the County's community clinic system' more than 13% of the clinic workforce. Other layoffs include more than 75 workers in Dietary at Oak Forest, including food workers, cooks, clerks and a dietician. HHS management staff have proposed closing inpatient units at both Oak Forest and Provident Hospital, but today's layoffs indicate the system has already decided to close those hospitals to inpatient treatment, rather than taking input from community residents, health policy analysts and others concerned about how County inpatient closures could undercut health care needs in Chicago and the suburbs.

'For years, critics have claimed that there is massive bloat and waste in management at the health system,' said Stroger. 'Yet now, an independent board with independent consultants have apparently found NO patronage, bloat or waste among middle and upper management positions where layoffs might occur. Where are the cuts in management positions and outside consulting contracts rather than frontline workers? Why are these cuts hitting virtually ONLY frontline workers who provide direct services?

Cook County residents need access to health care now more than ever, and there is no way the system can cut this level of front-line workers without undercutting services to our residents,'�� added Stroger. '��I supported the creation of the independent health board to win support for the funds we needed to PAY for that system, and to preserve clinics and hospitals ' not to gut services. It is bitterly disappointing ' and completely unacceptable ' for the HHS board to talk out of both sides of its mouth, and that is effectively what these layoffs demonstrate they have done to date. They have yet to release a detailed plan about how they propose to shape services in the coming year ' and yet these layoffs clearly indicate that they plan to slash services throughout the system at a time when fewer and fewer hospitals in the region will treat our patients in either their ER's or their available hospital beds.'

This underhanded scheme to slash services at the expense of people in desperate need for health care is a breach of the public trust and a slap in the face of people who have fought to preserve frontline services in our system for the last three years. The Board COULD have targeted senior and middle management staff for layoffs and cut their huge volume of outside management contracts, but they choose instead to attack frontline workers. Cook County residents deserve better, and our workers deserve better, and none of us will stand for it. I will be sponsoring a resolution ordering the leadership of the independent health and hospital board to appear before the County Board to account for this move ' a move they pulled before they submitted their strategic plan to the Cook County board.'

10/23/09