Published: Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 6:00 AM
FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- Two months after Thomas Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary, hospital officials on Monday announced that a recent increase in uninsured patients had forced them to lay off 17 full-time employees and three part-time positions.
"This is probably due to the nation’s overall economy in general, and specifically due to the economic impact of the oil spill on Baldwin County," said Cynthia Maddox, vice president of marketing for Infirmary Health System, which controls the Fairhope-based hospital.
In the past year, Thomas Hospital has seen a 20 percent increase in "private pay services" -- that is, health care services for patients who are either uninsured or who cannot afford to pay their insurance premiums, she said.
"Statistically, we only get back 5 percent of what we do in private pay. But we don’t turn anyone away," Maddox said.
The layoffs became effective Nov. 17, she said. Most of the employees who were laid off held mid-management positions. None of them were medical personnel, Maddox said.
The Infirmary Health System includes Mobile Infirmary, Infirmary West, North Baldwin Infirmary and Thomas Hospital. The entire system last year spent $40 million on uncompensated care, Maddox said.
Thomas itself has about 1,100 employees, including 200 doctors.
Mark Nix, the head of Infirmary Health System, said he has seen more urgent-care facilities popping up and fewer people coming through the traditional medical system.
In part, that’s because people have lost health insurance or have seen their benefits reduced, he said, leading patients to try to manage costs and seek cheaper care.
One solution, Maddox said, is to go to the local emergency room, where they can’t be denied care.
Infirmary Health Systems announced in 2005 that it would lease and operate Fairhope’s Thomas Hospital, in exchange for paying down $44 million in debt and paying for an expansion.
Last year, Thomas Hospital completed a $40 million expansion, including a new emergency room and 64 additional patient rooms. The hospital is now 368,000 square feet and has 150 beds.
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