KentuckyOne: Layoffs possible due to new healthcare law changes
STAFF REPORT
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 — KentuckyOne Health, the parent company of 
Bardstown’s Flaget Memorial Hospital, is facing a $218 million deficit and might have to lay off employees.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports today that a message on the KentuckyOne Health employee website states “At KentuckyOne today, costs are greater than revenue. To date, the many efforts to reduce expenses, grow services and reverse financial losses have not been enough. KentuckyOne must improve its performance by $218 million by the end of fiscal 2015.”
President and CEO Ruth Brinkley cited the new health-care reform law as one reason the system was facing this situation.
“We are now paid based on the quality and efficiency of care we provide, and not just what or how much care we provide,” she said. “We are becoming more accountable for maintaining and improving the health of entire populations.”
In a 10-minute video, Brinkley said she believed KentuckyOne would have to decrease the size of its work force.
“We will do our very best to reduce expenses that do not involve reductions in work force or reductions in the number of employees,” she said. “However, I do believe that unfortunately there will be reductions, because we must adjust what we are spending to the amount of money that we get for taking care of our patients.”
The video and employee website did not provide specifics regarding where the potential layoffs might occur.
In response to a Herald-Leader reporter’s questions Monday, KentuckyOne provided a statement, saying that it, “like other health-care organizations in the commonwealth and around the country, is faced with unprecedented changes in reimbursement and a rising cost of delivering care.”
In the video, Brinkley said she expected the system would decrease the number of acute-care hospital beds it operates and consolidate some services.
KentuckyOne was formed two years ago, when Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare in Louisville merged with the Lexington-based St. Joseph Health System. The health system, which also includes hospitals in Berea, London, Mount Sterling, Campbellsville and Bardstown, is the largest in the state, with about 15,000 employees.
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