SARASOTA, Fla. — A little more than a month later, Sarasota Memorial Hospital (SMH) is bringing back some of its temporarily furloughed staff.
The initial furlough on April 3, was caused by struggles with a "sudden" and "drastic" drop in hospital volume and revenue due to COVID-19.
Out of 7,000 employees, the hospital said it had to furlough 631 employees or approximately nine percent of its staff.
“This was an extremely difficult decision, and one that we did not make lightly,” Sarasota Memorial Hospital CEO David Verinder said in a letter to employees at the time. “Staff have gone above and beyond to care for our patients throughout this crisis, even as they have been anxious about the health and well-being of themselves and their families."
Now, about 200 of those furloughed have returned to work, including the majority of nurses who provide direct care for those hospitalized and surgery inpatient and outpatients.
"We are staffing to match our volumes, and our goal is to bring everyone back as soon as possible," SMH said.
The hospital said the loss of revenue initially casing the furlough was due to the moratorium on elective surgeries. A spokesperson for the hospital said they have never seen a budget shortfall like this and there was no way they could have impacted the impact losing elective surgeries would have.
DeSantis has since lifted the moratorium, allowing elective procedures to resume on May 4.
As hospital volumes continue to increase, SMH will focus on bringing back additional support staff and clinicians who provide care in both outpatient settings and urgent care centers.
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