Jackson Health ‘indefinitely defers’ hospital worker furloughs and pay cuts amid virus
Planned furloughs and pay cuts for Jackson Health System workers to reduce costs during the coronavirus outbreak will be “deferred indefinitely,” the hospital’s CEO announced on Wednesday, a day after Miami-Dade County commissioners said the taxpayer-owned hospital network could draw on a $150 million line of credit for operating capital.
Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya first announced the cuts last week, saying that the hospital’s finances were “devastated” by losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cancellation of all elective surgeries. But the recently adopted CARES Act, a federal stimulus bill that includes $100 billion for hospitals, gave Migoya a “glimmer of hope,” he said in a memo to employees.
“The early signs are encouraging enough that we have decided to delay implementation of our personnel actions,” Migoya said.
Behind the scenes, though, Jackson Health’s labor unions and the hospital system’s board of trustees partnered to lobby Miami-Dade commissioners to approve a credit line for the county-owned hospital and reverse the planned furloughs and pay cuts.
Martha Baker, a registered nurse and president of the labor union that represents 5,000 Jackson Health doctors and nurses, said she picked up the phone the moment she heard about the planned furloughs for non-clinical workers last week. Baker said she called the chairman of the Public Health Trust that governs Jackson Health, all of the board’s trustees and Miami-Dade commissioners. The announcement came just as South Florida was gearing up for a surge in patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“Everybody thought this was crazy,” she said.
Joe Arriola, chairman of the Jackson Health board, said he also spoke with county commissioners and asked them for help.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Miami-Dade commission voted 12-1 to give preliminary approval for Jackson Health to seek a line of credit from Wells Fargo. County commissioners will vote on the issue again at a public hearing scheduled for May 5.
“Instead of a $100 million line, they approved a $150 million line,” Arriola said, “and then in the afternoon they said no furloughs, no cuts, and that’s it.... I’m proud that we stood by the people at our hospital. We’re going to be asking them for a lot. We’re going to be asking them to risk their lives. How can I not defend them at this time?”
Migoya, who tested positive for COVID-19 and has self-isolated, declined to comment through a Jackson Health spokesman.
But in the memo to hospital workers, he left open the possibility that future cuts might be needed.
“Impacting your work schedules and your paychecks is something we consider only as a last resort,” he said. “It still may be necessary if additional relief legislation does not materialize quickly — we are in constant discussions to educate our elected officials about the urgent and absolute need for help.”
With an annual budget of more than $2 billion, Jackson Health employs more than 11,000 people at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and jailhouse clinics in Miami-Dade.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a statewide stay-at-home order, is expected to cut into Jackson Health’s tax revenues as bars, restaurants and other non-essential businesses are shuttered due to the pandemic. The safety net hospital system receives about $500 million a year in taxpayer funding through property taxes, sales taxes and general revenue from the county.
Last week, Migoya had announced that the hospital system’s executive team would take a 20% salary cut “until further notice” while the rest of the management team, which includes those with director titles and above, would take a 10% salary cut. Mandatory furloughs were to begin later this month for non-clinical workers.
A few days earlier in March, Migoya had asked employees in support departments and non-clinical roles to voluntarily use paid personal leave to help the health system manage a financial crunch brought on by canceled elective surgeries and fewer patients.
Arriola said that he understood why Jackson Health executives had proposed the furloughs and pay cuts. He said Jackson Health could lose about $1 million a day due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“They’re saying that we are going to lose $25 million a month probably,” he said. “Why? Because we’re not doing any surgeries. We’re not being Jackson. We are sitting here waiting to be smashed in the mouth with this thing. Nothing wrong with that because that’s exactly what we need to do.”
Arriola added that the county has not furloughed any employees, and that he felt it was unfair for Jackson Health workers to lose pay during the coronavirus pandemic when they might be called on to lead the response. He said that if it ends up that Jackson Health spends a lot of money to keep workers on “for no reason,” he’s willing to accept responsibility.
“I hope that’s exactly what happens,” he said. “I’ll take the blame. But if it doesn’t, I don’t want to be responsible for not being ready. I don’t want to be responsible for sending people home and then calling them back and saying, ‘You have to come back and risk your life’.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 5:59 PM.
