Longtime Cobleskill Regional Hospital President and CEO Eric Stein is taking on two more hospitals.
In a reorganization of the Bassett Healthcare Network, Mr. Stein will oversee A.O.Fox Hospital in Oneonta and O’Connor Hospital in Delhi, in addition to CRH.
Patients at Cobleskill will see no adverse changes, said Mr. Stein, who described the move as one to save money and also improve decision-making and patient care.
He also said the changeover is complex, made even more so by COVID-19 and the soon-to-come vaccine.
Bassett President and CEO Tommy Ibrahim, MD announced the “new operating model, known as OneBassett,” on Friday, according to a press release.
Like other healthcare organizations nationwide, Bassett “has been facing increasing financial and regulatory pressures which have been recently intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the press release reads.
The move divides Bassett’s five hospitals into northern and southern regions. Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown and Little Falls Hospital are the northern region, and CRH, Fox and O’Connor will become the southern.
Bassett will eliminate 15 “leadership positions,” according to the press release, although only one of those will be in Cobleskill.
There will be 15 layoffs in “leadership positions,” according to the press release, though only one in Cobleskill.
Being in charge of the southern region, Mr. Stein will have three vice presidents, in operations, nursing and medical affairs.
Previously, each hospital had those positions, said Mr. Stein, who’s been president at CRH for 18 years.
“There’s one set of us making decisions for all three hospitals,” he added. “It’s standardized, instead of three hospitals making decisions independently.”
As an example, Mr. Stein cited the COVID-19 vaccine; all three of his hospitals will administer the vaccine the same way.
Though he’ll still be in Cobleskill, Mr. Stein will spend time in Oneonta and Delhi, and he’ll have a site manager at each hospital as well.
In another move, Bassett will eliminate 41 more positions in March. Those people, however, would have a chance to take other posts within the network, possibly with re-training.
“Our goal through this process has been to preserve jobs and keep as many people as possible employed with the network long-term,” Dr. Ibrahim said.
Some of those laid off in March could be temporarily assigned to Bassett’s COVID-19 response teams, Mr. Stein added.
Executives will be affected, too, by taking five- to 10-percent voluntary pay cuts. Mr. Stein’s salary is being reduced by five percent; Dr. Ibrahim’s, 20 percent.
The reorganization is in a transitional stage now, made more complicated by the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, expected this week or next.
Front-line patient care staff will receive the vaccine first, Mr. Stein said.
He described the entire process––changeover and vaccines––as “extremely complicated,” but added that streamlining and coordinating leadership will be positive.
“We can share thinking, and we can share resources,” Mr. Stein said. “We’re in a good place.”