Coronavirus has resulted in furloughs and pay cuts at Baylor Scott & White (BSW).
WTAW News received this response from Baylor Scott & White about how their College Station region is impacted by the three percent reduction in its workforce and temporary salary reduction of senior executives.
As part of our comprehensive plan, we are flexing and furloughing staff to match patient volumes. We do not yet have a number to provide, as we are determining that number now. It is important to note that number will change as our patient volumes change. The reduction in force will affect around 1,200 team members across the entire Baylor Scott & White Health system, including staff in the College Station Region. For physicians, the salary cut is 10% and is temporary. Our senior leadership team, roughly 260 leaders across the System, will be taking temporary salary reductions of between 10 and 20%. Our system CEO and system president are taking a 25% reduction. In the College Station Region, we will continue to provide the same services and offerings to our patients, and will have no facility closures at this time.
According to a company statement, all BSW employee pay remains protected through June 7.
Tuesday’s statement also referred to making “modified physician compensation models” and “flexing” employees “to accommodate changing volumes” of patients. That’s the result of the state’s largest not-for-profit hospital system in Texas having to suspend non-urgent surgeries and procedures. The state-ordered suspension, which has since been lifted, was to prepare for a potential surge of patients infected with coronavirus.
Statement from Baylor Scott & White:
Throughout the course of the pandemic, our focus has been on the safety and well-being of our patients and team members.
Early on, we made the decision to protect the pay of all employees through the end of May, and we recently extended that through June 7th.
We worked to reassure and safeguard our people through the uncertainty as we prepared for a potential surge of COVID-19 patients, yet experienced a drastic drop in visits, largely due to the suspension of non-urgent surgeries and procedures.
Now, as early data is revealing the significant economic implications of the pandemic on Texans and the operational and financial implications on our health system, we are implementing changes to remain prepared and able to adapt in continued unpredictability.
These changes include temporary salary reductions of senior executives, modified physician compensation models, flexing and furloughing of employees to accommodate changing volumes, and a reduction of our workforce of around 3%.
While designed to better match our resources with evolving community needs, any decisions to part with our people are always very difficult.
We are committed to supporting these team members’ transitions in every way possible.
Other changes were announced to employees today as part of a comprehensive plan to strengthen our organization for the future, including growing digital offerings and further investing in team members on the frontlines.