OGDENSBURG -- Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center is having to lay off about 8 percent of its workforce due to lower revenues as patient volumes decrease during the governor’s PAUSE order.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CHMC, like many other hospitals, has seen a dramatic erosion of patient volumes and demand across nearly every segment of the operation, said a statement from the hospital released Friday, April 10.

“The hospital has faced a reduction in revenue from those services, compelling the organization to focus finite resources towards COVID-19 related preparation and care of our patients and community,” the statement said.

“CHMC is ineligible for the Payroll Relief Program, leaving us, along with many other healthcare organizations, in a fiscal bind. We continue to engage with various agencies, but the ineligibility requires us to enact solutions impacting the workforce,” CHMC said.

Beginning March 24, 2020, and continuing over the next few weeks, CHMC will place approximately 69 of its 850 employees on unpaid leave. Unfortunately, CHMC does not have a projection or model to predict how long extended unpaid leave may last, said the hospital.

"At this time, we are not sure when we will be returning to normal operations. We are continuing to follow the directions of the Governor and the New York State Department of Health," said Richard Duvall, CEO & President of CHMC. "In the interim, we plan to move employees to meet new areas of need. It may be necessary for some staff to serve in a different role to best serve our patients. This will allow us to optimize our well trained staff. We want to keep as many people working as we can. Call-backs to work are anticipated as post-pandemic operations commence. These tough decisions are inevitable during our strategic, fluid, and dynamic response to the pandemic's impact on operations."

CHMC said it is committed to caring for the community through this crisis and restoring the full scope of patient services in a pragmatic yet rapid approach.

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