BGH layoff rumors surpass reality

SANDPOINT — Bonner General Hospital is conducting a round of layoffs, but they are a fraction of the figures that are coursing through the community’s rumor mill.

Some are concerned the hospital is implementing massive layoffs, but hospital officials said only four of the facility’s 400 employees have been laid off and further layoffs are not anticipated.

“Our volumes are starting to look better so we’re hoping that with the turnaround and the improvements that we’ve made we won’t have to do any more layoffs,” said Tarah Neujahr, the hospital’s marketing and communications manager.

Neujahr said the layoffs come amid restructuring influenced by increased competition, decreased reimbursements from state and federal programs, and uncertainty surrounding health care reform.

Neujahr added that hospitals around the state and the country are grappling with similar issues.

“We’re all having to look at adjusting our health care models so that we can provide the best care for patients and also make it affordable and realistic with what’s going to happen with health care reform and decreased reimbursements from federal and state programs,” she said.

The employees who were laid off are being encouraged to apply for vacant positions at the hospital.

Neujahr said emergency room visits have been pretty steady, although inpatient admissions, outpatient visits and elective surgeries are down.

“With health care reform, people are being cautious with their insurance. They aren’t sure what the future holds exactly,” she said.

The last thing the hospital wants to do is sweeping layoffs, according to Neujahr.

“We understand it’s scary, but we also recognize that our employees are the front line to our patients. And to have good patient care, we’ve got to take care of our employees,” she said.