Memorial Hospital in Gulfport
The Coast hospital is considering the layoffs a restructuring and has encouraged employees who lost their current position to apply for others within the company.
An announcement of layoffs came from Memorial Hospital Gulfport on Tuesday. This followed reports that the hospital system was terminating its membership with the Mississippi Hospital Association.
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Memorial, the largest hospital in Harrison County, said the layoffs impacted less than 2% of their current workforce. The impacted employees have been encouraged to apply for other jobs at Memorial. The employees will remain in their current positions for two weeks.
Memorial Hospital has been in operation for over 75 years. It is a public not-for-profit healthcare provider on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, operated by the City of Gulfport and Harrison County. Memorial was recognized as a 2022-2023 Best Hospital in Mississippi by U.S. News & World Report. It also ranked first in Coastal Mississippi and number three in the state
Their mission “is to build healthier communities by improving care for the region’s most vulnerable populations,” according to their 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).The hospital released this statement on Tuesday:
We recognize the impact this decision will have on our employees and their families. As such, we are committed to providing support to affected individuals. The employees will have the option to work with Memorial’s Human Resources to apply for existing positions within the organization, and we will offer career placement services.
Kent Nicaud, CEO, Memorial Health System, said, “These difficult steps will help ensure the long-term sustainability of our health system so we can continue to offer the same services to our community. We are committed to providing high-quality care close to home.”
The layoffs come just one year after the hospital terminated several executive positions. In 2022, Memorial eliminated the chief medical officer position, chief financial officer and vice president of systems development. Two chief administrative officers were demoted to vice presidents and three senior directors to director in April of 2022, according to previous reports by the Sun Herald.
The Memorial Hospital Foundation also serves as a non-profit arm for the hospital. It manages 26 funds that provide financial support for the hospital’s needs.
The hospital reported a decrease in net position of $61 million in 2021 after an increase in net position of $16.7 million the year before. The increase in 2020 included $41 million in non-operating income from the CARES Act during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total operating revenues were $698.3 million and $617.0 million in fiscal years 2021 and 2020, respectively. Emergency room visits as well as outpatient surgeries, deliveries and ambulatory visits largely attributed to the increase.
In that time period, salaries and employee benefits increased $51.4 million or 15.8%. Roughly $2.5 million of the increase was due to the opening of Gulf South Surgery Center. It began operating in September of 2020. Four million dollars was also linked to COVID activity.
According to the hosptial’s report, the operating loss was $66.8 million in fiscal year 2021 and $33.0 million in 2020.
Sarah Ulmer
