CAMC to Cut 300 Positions by the End of 2017

Charleston Area Medical Center plans to cut 300 positions by the end of 2017. The announcement came in a 7-and-a-half-minute video from CAMC president and CEO Dave Ramsey.

In the video, Ramsey said CAMC was on track to lose 40 million dollars in the first few months of 2017.  CAMC implemented a hiring freeze in January of 2017, and plans to cut programs and eliminate 300 positions. 56 of the 300 will come from vacant positions left by the hiring freeze.

Ramsey cited West Virginia’s declining economy, rising drug prices, and the nursing shortage for the financial challenges. He also pointed out that the hospital sees a high number of people on government insurance, such as PEIA, Medicare and Medicaid which reimburses below the cost of treatment, as part of the problem.

“In fact, commercially insured patients make up only 17 percent of our patients, down from 20 percent in 2012,” he said. “Three percentage points represent nearly 50 million dollars per year in our bottom line.”

Ramsey said all departments will now be required to operate at 100 percent productivity starting in August of 2017.

CAMC has about 7,000 workers and is West Virginia’s third-largest private employer behind WVU Medicine and Walmart.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.