Over the next month, Roseburg’s CHI Mercy Health and Centennial Medical Group will be eliminating 18 jobs, primarily in leadership support roles. This decision has been described as a restructuring effort. Russell Woolley, the CEO and President of Mercy Health, mentioned financial pressures and workforce challenges within the health system as key factors leading to the decision to cut these positions.
With about 1,300 employees currently working at the hospital and medical group, this reduction in workforce follows a similar action taken last spring when 50 full-time employees lost their jobs at Mercy Health. In response, hospital leadership has been encouraging displaced employees to consider applying for other job openings within the organization or elsewhere.
Having operated as a hospital in Roseburg for the past 115 years, Mercy Health’s leadership regularly evaluates operational performance to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization. As part of the restructuring process, improvements in scheduling efficiencies, natural employee attrition, agency elimination, and reducing contract services will be implemented. It is not clear how many additional positions have been impacted by these changes.
Woolley emphasized that the main goal of the restructuring is to establish a more stable financial foundation that will ultimately enable the organization to expand rather than reduce patient care services. Currently, Mercy Health operates as a 174-bed medical center.