The recession has come to health care in large part because of the Affordable Care Act and the problems that it presents are not unique to KentuckyOne Health, its CEO said Wednesday.
Ruth Brinkley, president and CEO of KentuckyOne Health, said the layoffs and loss of beds her organization is facing are challenges, but patients should be able to get the medical care they need.
Brinkley spoke to The Herald-Leader's editorial board Wednesday following news this week that KentuckyOne Health, which employs 15,000 people and runs St. Joseph Hospital and St. Joseph East in Lexington, is facing a $218 million deficit and is looking at cutting staff and reducing the number of acute-care beds.
Brinkley declined Wednesday to cite specifics about staff reductions or facility cuts. However, she said that the cuts were not being made "across the board" and that each hospital in the KentuckyOne system was being looked at independently.
"We can't afford to provide every service in every location," she said.
That includes examining duplicate services at big-city providers such as Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, which all joined to become KentuckyOne Health more than two years ago, along with smaller hospitals in Berea, London, Mount Sterling, Campbellsville and Bardstown.
The issues facing Kentucky One Health might be challenges to other health care providers in the state, too, said Mike Rust, president of the Kentucky Hospital Association.
"These are challenging times, and our hospitals are all feeling the pressures of declining reimbursements," he said, referring to reimbursements from the federal government for Medicare and Medicaid that are tied to the Affordable Care Act.
Layoffs and reorganizations are happening across the country, he said.
"We are seeing this from the East Coast to the West Coast."
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KentuckyOne's CEO cites health care reform as reason for layoffs