INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's largest hospital system said Thursday it will cut about 800 jobs as part of a move to reduce costs and adapt to changing trends in health care.
The cutbacks will go into effect by Dec. 1 at seven hospitals, including those in the Indianapolis area, Muncie and Tipton, Indiana University Health officials said at a news conference. Officials said they're trying to save $1 billion over five years.
"This is going to affect every part of the organization. We don't know who exactly is going to be affected by this," IU Health president James Terwilliger said.
IU Health's website said the system has more than 24,000 full-time employees.
Terwillinger said the cuts, along with a related realignment in how IU Heath delivers services, reflect declining reimbursement rates and decreases in hospital admissions as patients increasingly seek alternative care.
"Patients are making decisions to not come to hospitals the way they did," said Dr. Jeff Sperring, president and CEO of Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.
Terwilliger did not go into detail about the origins of the changes in health care.
"I don't think there's any one factor," he said, noting "These things are happening across the country."
The 19-hospital system will offer some employees early retirement. Those employees must make their decision by Sept. 22, officials said.
IU Health officials said the changes did not mean the health care industry was in decline, but just that it was changing.
"This is a way to adapt and deliver care to more patients in Indiana," Sperring said.
St. Vincent Health, an Indianapolis-based network of 22 hospitals, announced in June it was making similar cuts.
