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Two-thirds of St. Mary-Corwin employees impacted by layoffs to have new jobs soon

Posted at 9:19 PM, Apr 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-23 23:19:27-04

It’s been over a month since St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center announced it would be laying off about 300 employees. 

The devastating news rocked the Pueblo community, but now, some positive strides are being made.

On Monday, CEO Mike Cafasso announced that two-thirds of those 300 employees impacted will have a new position or offers for a new job by the end of May. 

For those without a job, Cafasso says the hospital will continue to do what it can to help. 

In referencing last month’s layoffs, Cafasso said, "It certainly was a dramatic announcement…the mode in which we are operating right now is no longer sustainable. With reimbursement rates dropping and expenses increasing there was no way to continue on the path that we were moving."

The announcement turned lives upside down. 

"The impact on the community has certainly been felt."

Since then though, the hospital has been working to help those affected. 

"I think people are beginning to feel a little bit more at ease…we’ve got nearly two-thirds of our people or a little over two-thirds of our people with offers in employment."

The positions and offers are either with Centura Health or another organization. 

Cafasso said, "We had several jobs fairs and we hosted a few of these at the convention center…the number of organizations that had reached out to participate in our job fairs were well over 36 different entities…we continue to do some counseling on the inside. The State of Colorado was here with their program helping people either write resumes, go through interview skills."

When it comes to taking care of patients Cafasso said, "We’ve heard and we’ve addressed in every possible area the details, ensuring our folks…people in our community that they will have a hospital that, while may be narrower in scope, will be able to provide the care that they’ve come to rely upon."

The hospital says it will continue to have job fairs to help those still looking for employment. 

News 5 was told workers have been offered severance packages. Most will be out of a job by May 1.

Some employees say they’re worried about being able to find a job and just how long it might take. They haven’t been able to take advantage of the job fairs because of their work schedule. With only days until their jobs ends they say it’s a very stressful time.