Boston Medical Center to lay off or cut hours of 250 people

they were just hiring ??? what is going to happen with the new hires! this is crazy.

This isn't good news for me. I go to BMC to get my boils lanced.

This is terrible news. No other hospital in Boston does what BMC does for the city and for the region. In these tough times, places like BMC need more support, not less.

It's too bad that they have to cut jobs when an organizational change and adopting the same cost saving practices that private hospitals/businesses utilize could save the hospital millions. They still operate as a city department for all intensive purposes with little to no incentive for cost saving or good business practices. It's a shame.

I thought all those newly insured Massachusetts residents would increase the payments made to hospitals. Doesn't seem to add up?

This is the first step in the state sponsored take cover of the healthcare system by Partners Healthcare. It will be interesting to see if Man's Greatest Hospital as well as the Brigham's can begin to handle the increased emergency room load as the other area emergency rooms cut back. In fact, it may be more cost effective for Boston City and Cambridge Health to pay for ambulance service to transport their patients to the Partners' emergency rooms and let Partners negotiate the reimbursements since they already get an unfair kickback from the HMO's. Let the Partners emergency rooms get flooded with the low income patients that they refuse to serve in order to cater to the US News reports!!

Maybe instead off laying of positions which invole direct patient care, positions such as CEOs should take a pay cut. Did I not read that the CEO of BMC made 1 million dollars last year? You can't tell me her life whoudl be draststically impacted by going to 500,000, which would save some patient care positions.
Do they really need to have the flowers outside replaced every few months? Is there a benefit to patient care by having a landscaped lawn? I do not think that the CEOs really care about how these cuts will impact patient care. Boston Medical saves lives and it is not the "suits" that do it!

thank you Patrick Duvall

I hope my girlfriend's job won't be cut out as well. She's the NICU unit coordinator over there.

What aboud a decrease in Elaine Ullian, salarary from $1.37 million back to $885,901. I know she does an exceptinonal job, but a decrase in the salary might save a few postions.

I hope the hospital general counsel's office can work out something with the family court judges who will no doubt be called upon to lower alimony payments that people who lose their jobs must continue to pay. Such occurrences are one of the results of the draconian system of lifetime alimony in Massachusetts. Now, throughout the state, thousands of people who've lost their jobs will be forced to return to court and petition the courts to lower their payments. Since few courts ever eliminate payments, lowering is the best hope people have.
Sadly - tragically - most divorced women in Massachusetts are never expected to become self-sufficient . THe results are this: that when their money supplies (ie ex-husbands) lose their jobs through no fault of their own, the entire system breaks down.
When will the legislature make Mass laws like those of the rest of the country????

Tufts Medical Center is reducing spending too.
Tufts Medical Center is stealing back vacation time from dedicated employees who worked through layoffs, a hiring freeze, staff shortages.
This is their reward for being dedicated and responsible employees, who show up to work each day.

Will Ellaine Ullian make 1.37 million dollars this year...or will her raise be less than the 54 percent she got in 2006?????? Im sure if we scaled back the management spending some people could keep their jobs, and our executives would still be well reimbursed,

THis is such a sad story. I am so sorry to read this. It's terrifying to imagine whose jobs will go next.

George and Paul if I were you I would becareful how to ran the hospital at the taxes
payer's expenses, the position you are holding can not afford to be nicey nicey
you know that. I don't like what I see and I am glad I don't make my living off
the hospial so.

Boston Medical Center is a hospital that primarily serves minorities and individuals of lower socioeconomic status. Because of the enormous cuts in funding at BMC, ultimately minorities and lower income are being discrimated against.

I hope that pay cuts or job elimination will be seen in upper management as well. Every time I hear about another company going through a round of layoffs or pay cuts, I can't help but wonder whether the execs are still getting their big cushy quarterly bonuses, and infinite expense accounts, etc... It's time to start cutting some pork from the top level, where most of the people are probably still living pretty comfortably, and could afford to cut back a little bit without ever having to struggle.

so doing the math... the average wage is $80,000 ?

Too many hospital and medical center in this states. And just more people get
sick and I don't think doctors and nurses are hero or whatever they claim to be.

What is Elaine Ullian's salary? Is that being cut?

There are some pretty wonderful staff who work at that hospital. The advanced practiontioners who work to protect the health and welfare of poor elderly do more than their fair share to fill a void. The idea that the poor must bear the brunt of the pain is shameful. God willing, we do not start to find frail elderly in abusive situations. We can do better. We have to do better than this. January canot come soon enough.