My local hospital is laying people off

[spinbaby]

https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/washington-health-system-doing-voluntary-mandatory-layoffs-due-decrease-revenue/ACNUNCEKP5AWDBOCSWXJWXYIZY/

Apparently they canceled all those lucrative elective procedures to clear the decks for Coronavirus.

[procon]

1. Seems like they need even more staffing because

those patients need a higher level of care.

[spinbaby]

3. I suppose they need different staffing

They will probably need more skilled nursing and less of most everything else.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Or they are firing them and rehiring them as contractors in some perverse way to shirk health ins.

[hunter]

4. Calm before the storm.

Rest up now, all hell soon to break loose.

[customerserviceguy]

5. I wonder what procedures are considered elective?

I can't imagine there are that many nose jobs, etc. there are on a hospital's daily schedule.

Also, giving workers a rest before calling them back to potential hell, while they're fully covered by unemployment insurance is not the world's worst idea.

[spinbaby]

6. I know just from talking to people

That many of the layoffs are in physical therapy and the wellness center. Also, I imagine they’re not doing routine mammograms, colonoscopies, and such.

[customerserviceguy]

7. That makes sense

You wouldn't need physical therapy for someone recovering from C-19. As for mammograms and colonoscopies, the former are often done at imaging centers, and the latter are done in doctor's offices. At least that's my experience with them.