LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- St. Vincent Health System has announced layoffs in an effort to trim its budget by $12 million.
The Little Rock health provider recently laid off 29 employees and eliminated 21 other open positions through attrition, by deciding not to fill them. None of the layoffs are patient-care related, as many of them clerical.
Employees were notified of the cuts about a week ago. The health provider says while volume of business is growing, it's softer than anticipated.
St. Vincent Health System Senior Vice President Jon Timmis says these labor cuts will save St. Vincent about $2.5 million.
Timmis says the rest of the savings would come from other initiatives, including renegotiating its contracts with vendors.
St. Vincent is coming off of its best fiscal year in a decade, but Timmis says they want to stay ahead of the curve with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement cuts likely.
"The changes that were made were more in-line with getting the organization staffed at the size we think the organization will be in this new world of health reform."
St. Vincent has close to 3,000 employees.