Thousands of employees at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem will be affected by several cost-cutting measures. The hospital is planning to freeze some hiring, reduce retirement contributions and ask employees to voluntarily take furloughs.
Workers learned about the cuts in an email memo earlier this week. Wake Forest Baptist declined interview requests. In the email, CEO John McConnell said hospital is implementing its electronic medical records program, which has challenges. The hospital has also seen an increase of uninsured patients in the emergency department, while receiving a reduction in Medicare reimbursement. The medical center is the largest employer in Forsyth County with more than 13,000 full and part-time workers. These cuts will be in effect until at least June 30th, the end of the fiscal year.