PeaceHealth lays off 2.5 percent of staff

Vancouver-based nonprofit health system PeaceHealth cut 2.5 percent of its 16,000 employees, executives said in an email to employees Tuesday.

The email from Sarah Ness, PeaceHealth’s incoming president and CEO, stated that the cuts were made after months of deliberation to address “financial and operational realities.”

According to a notification received by the Washington State Employment Security Department, 241 employees will be laid off in the state. As of Wednesday morning, similar notifications had not been filed with Oregon and Alaska, the other states where PeaceHealth operates.

A PeaceHealth statement to The Columbian said cuts will eliminate select job positions, close some open positions and make other organizational adjustments.

“The overwhelming majority of impacted positions are non-clinical and administrative Shared Services roles, which support PeaceHealth’s 16,000 caregivers across three states,” PeaceHealth said.

The last day of work for those affected will be Friday.

The Oregon Nurses Association is concerned about how cuts will affect caregivers and communities in the Pacific Northwest, according to a Wednesday statement from the union. The statement also accuses executives of putting “profits ahead of the people they are meant to serve.”

“Lost positions will lead to longer waits, less facetime between patients and providers, more unemployment, and lower-quality health care for everyone,” according to the union’s statement.

This is the second mass layoff at PeaceHealth this year. On May 22, PeaceHealth laid off 1 percent of its employees and announced a partial hiring freeze through 2025.