St. Francis plans to cut 300 jobs

St. Francis Medical Center, one of Ouachita Parish's top 10 largest private employers, plans to cut about 300 jobs before the end of the year.

In a statement from the hospital, St. Francis said it would offer about 300 employees a voluntary workforce adjustment compensation package that would voluntarily end their employment before the end of the year.

The hospital also is considering, as reported first by The News-Star earlier this summer, a consolidation that would close its downtown campus and consolidate its operations into the St. Francis North hospital on U.S. 165 North.

That decision is expected to be made this fall.

"Major market shifts in the health care industry, as well as regional changes, have created substantial operational challenges for St. Francis," a hospital press release said attributed to the St. Francis Center administration. "Throughout the course of the year, we have made adjustments to optimize our operations more closely with the needs of Northeast Louisiana."

It continued: "St. Francis Medical Center is taking steps to align its expenses with expected revenue. For the hospital to be responsive to the ever-changing health care environment, we continue to improve operating efficiency, implement steps to reduce costs, and staff the hospital appropriately.

"As part of this effort, we are offering approximately 300 team members a Voluntary Workforce Adjustment compensation package. They have the option to elect to accept the package which would result in voluntarily ending their employment with St. Francis before the end of the year.

"As always, our priority is patient care and our goal is to set St. Francis on a path that will ensure we can fulfill our mission for years to come. We remain committed to making changes that respect our team members."

St. Francis employs about 2,000 workers.