Independence Health System is laying off 151 employees as it looks to cut costs.
Kelly Skoloda, chief marketing and communications officer for the financially challenged regional health care provider, confirmed the staff cuts Wednesday in a statement mirroring a message sent to employees by the system’s President and CEO Ken DeFurio.
Independence Health, when questioned by TribLive, didn’t reveal what categories of staff members are being affected or where they are located. The former Excela Health — with a flagship hospital in Greensburg and others in Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant — and Butler Health systems merged to form Independence in 2023.
The affected workers represent the equivalent of 122 full-time positions and about 2% of the health system’s workforce of 7,300, according to the statement. The staff cuts apparently have been underway since the beginning of the year.
“This includes 81 individuals who will be impacted this week — either through transfers to vacant roles or, sadly, through the loss of their current positions,” Skoloda said.
DeFurio added in his message: “We have worked very hard to impact as few of our colleagues as possible. We will fill vacant positions with these individuals wherever we are able.”
Skoloda mentioned that Independence Health cut its losses nearly in half from 2023 to 2024.
“But despite these efforts, like many health systems, we continue to face unrelenting and unprecedented financial and operational pressures — both within health care and across the broader economy,” she said. “We must continue to make difficult but necessary decisions.”
This story is developing and will be updated.