St. Lawrence Health System cuts jobs

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - What were once temporary are now permanent job cuts at St. Lawrence Heath System.

In a memo Wednesday a Health System official, Jeremy Slaga, said “we will be eliminating approximately 26 furloughed positions across the System.”

St. Lawrence Health System operates Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Massena Hospital and Gouverneur Hospital.

When the COVID-19 crisis hit, about 400 St. Lawrence Health System employees were furloughed, though 240 of them have been called back to work.

Slaga notes that while the hospitals are slowly returning to normal, “there are still some areas that will remain suspended or at lower than our budgeted volume for an undetermined period of time.

“It is hard to predict how long these conditions will last and how much more challenging the environment may become...”

The 26 employees losing their jobs permanently get health coverage through the end of the month, and can apply for other jobs in the hospital chain.

“The next few months won’t be easy,” Slaga writes “but please know all the steps we are taking today are focused on ensuring our hospitals continue to offer the highest quality of care to our community well into the future.”

Calls to St. Lawrence Health System by 7 News were not returned during the day Thursday.