The MetroHealth System announced Thursday that it will lay off "about 125" non-medical employees, from senior leaders to entry-level workers.
MetroHealth President and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager announced the layoffs in an email sent to staff Thursday, citing financial challenges.
"Despite your hard work and steady growth in our volumes, MetroHealth’s expenses continue to outpace revenues," Alexander-Rager's email said. "And that gap is growing. We are on pace to end 2025 with another operating loss, our third straight year with a shortfall."
The health system said it’s making these changes to help steady its finances as the cost of caring for uninsured patients in Greater Cleveland rises. The system’s financial reports show uncompensated care nearly doubled from $180 million in 2022 to $369 million in 2024. Alexander-Rager's email also cited uncertainty about future funding amid expected changes in government policy.
"MetroHealth now provides more than $1 million a day of uncompensated care to our community. Changes to Medicaid eligibility and government reimbursements are likely to drive those costs even higher," the email said.
In addition to staff reductions, Alexander-Rager said she will ask the MetroHealth Board of Trustees to suspend the at-risk portion of compensation for more than 200 top leaders for 2025. She is also extending a freeze on non-clinical hiring and non-essential travel, according to a press release issued Thursday.
The hospital system announced plans to cut costs nearly a year ago, but reported no plans for layoffs at that time.
Hospital leadership is assessing the system's financial future and resources, the email added, noting that more changes are expected, including "reorganizing our workforce to maximize our efficiency and our ability to lean into innovating healthcare delivery."
MetroHealth laid off workers in early 2009, when approximately 270 employees were laid off and another 130 positions were eliminated —about 6% of its total workforce at the time. Following that era of workforce reductions, the system again laid off 104 employees and eliminated around 151 vacant positions in late 2011, part of a broader plan to cut roughly 450 jobs to reduce operating losses by about $30 million.
Thursday's announced layoffs account for less than 1.5% of the safety-net public hospital system’s workforce. The affected employees do not provide direct patient care and will receive a severance package, according to the hospital.
Patient care, appointments and patient or public safety are not affected, the hospital system said.
