Health care staff are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but facilities are seeing the same drop in revenue other businesses are experiencing.
Eastern Niagara Hospital has announced that 60 employees are being furloughed, effective immediately due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's about 12 percent of the workforce of 484 at the Lockport hospital.
President and CEO Anne McCaffrey said the state-mandated suspension of elective surgeries and non-essential outpatient procedures during the coronavirus crisis has cut off a substantial share of revenues for the hospital.
The furloughs do not include the hospital's inpatient, intensive care or emergency department staffers. The affected employees, both union and non-union, will be called back to work when the situation improves.
At the same time, Catholic Health announced its senior leadership team will be taking salary reductions of up to 20% in response to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.
Officials said their revenue streams have also dropped significantly due to the state's prohibition of elective procedures and many outpatient services during the pandemic.
While Catholic Health does expected some financial relief from federal programs, it won't entirely cover the shortfall, and further temporary financial measures may be pending.
