Stanford Medical Center Closes Hospice, Home Health Care Programs
As a first step in a "series of major cost-cutting measures," Stanford Medical Center will "phas[e] out" its home health care and hospice programs over the next 30 days, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Shutting down the two programs is expected to save the "financially strapped" medical center more than $5 million a year, according to senior administrators, who approved the cuts Tuesday night. The Chronicle reports that more than 250 patients will be "affected immediately," but hospital administrators said they are "taking steps to ensure a smooth transfer" to other programs. In addition, the cuts will eliminate 63 medical personnel jobs, mostly nursing positions, but many workers will be offered employment elsewhere in the medical center, which has "several hundred job openings," officials said. Dr. Eugene Bauer, vice president of Stanford Medical Center, said the program cuts are "just one of a number of cost-cutting options" the facility is using. Stanford also is planning to renegotiate contracts with private health plans. The Chronicle reports that Stanford has faced "staggering losses" since its merger with the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center "collapse[d]" last year. For the fiscal year ending Aug 31., Stanford is projecting a $40 million loss at its adult hospitals and clinics (Workman, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/12).
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