Shore Medical Center clarified its call for voluntary layoffs a day after the request was made."The intended volunteers for reduction are in non-clinical support areas," spokesman Brian Cahill said Tuesday.On Monday, Human Resources Vice President Alan Beatty wrote in a letter to employees that cuts were needed after "a dramatic decrease in revenues" due to cancelled elective surgeries and other scheduled services because of the coronavirus."As a result, we have made reductions in staff hours, so that we can allocate every possible resource in order to care for our patients," he wrote. "These decisions are difficult to make, but necessary. These are unprecedented times, and we have to take every measure necessary to protect and secure our staff to care for the patients in our community."Decisions on layoffs will be made dependent on department operations.On Tuesday, Cahill said "no requests for a voluntary layoff from nurses or doctors will be approved."Shore is trying to avoid mass layoffs and closures that other hospitals are going through, Cahill previously said. "We are doing what is necessary to provide our clinical teams on the front line with everything they need to treat our patient and remain safe," he told BreakingAC. "This includes making difficult decisions on allocating resources from other areas."Those approved will be able to continue their medical benefits without the normal payroll contribution until May 2, and then continue their coverage at their own expense under COBRA."We did not want to exclude someone who may have extenuating circumstances that would prevent them from providing care to patients with COVID-19," he said of the earlier request.Workers had until 4 p.m. Tuesday to make their decision."Employees who do volunteer and are approved would be eligible for rehire and given priority consideration when business and the economy stabilize," Beatty wrote.During the governor's daily briefing on the virus, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said the state was looking to redeploy any laid off healthcare workers to North Jersey.
(Note: This story has been updated to clarify who the layoffs were meant to target.)
