Prisma Health starts furlough for several employees – FOX Carolina

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – Prisma Health is starting a furlough that will affect a number of employees, with first notifications going out this week.

We received several tips about the furlough from employees, and we reached out to the health system to confirm this. We received confirmation around 10 p.m. Friday, March 27.

According to a statement from Sarah Moore with Prisma, the decision was made in response to the ongoing crisis surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Moore’s statement says elective cases have decreased in the last two weeks, and new costs are popping up as part of a response to the virus.

The furloughs will hit administrative, corporate, and clinical areas in the entire Prisma Health system. Moore notes it’s a rapidly-evolving situation, and team members got notifications today. More notifications will go out in the next week.

Full statement follows:

Today, we announced the difficult decision to institute a furlough that will affect a number of Prisma Health team members.

We are taking this management action due to the negative impact that the COVID-19 public health crisis is having on our business operations. The number of elective cases, which generate a major portion of our income, has decreased dramatically in the past two weeks. Additionally, we are incurring significant new costs associated with the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 patients who are seeking care from Prisma Health.

Administrative, corporate and clinical areas across the entire organization are impacted by this furlough. This is a rapidly evolving situation both here and across the nation, so we do not know how long it will be in effect. 

Team members affected by the furlough began to receive notifications today, which will continue to early next week. We do not have an exact number of impacted team members at this time.

These are unprecedented times for our country, for South Carolina, for Prisma Health, and for each one of us. Our patients and our community, now more than ever, are looking to us to take care of them. This management action, while difficult, is necessary for Prisma Health to meet this need.

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