Chicago BioMedicine to cut 5 percent of workforce

CHICAGO, Illinois — Chicago BioMedicine will trim 450 jobs — about 5 percent of its workforce — reduce its inpatient beds by 30 and freeze hiring new academic faculty as part of a reorganization fueled in part by the economic downturn, it announced today.

Chicago BioMedicine, the umbrella organization that includes the University of Chicago’s Medical Center, the Pritzker School of Medicine, and its Biological Sciences Division, learned in December it would have to cut $100 million from its budget, according to the news release.

The Chicago Tribune reports that on Friday Dr. Skip Garcia stepped down as chairman of the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, though he will remain on faculty. The vice president for external and community affairs — which had been held by First Lady Michelle Obama – also was eliminated.

Other changes(pdf) include:

• Inpatient capacity will be cut by more than 30 beds in areas including general medicine and intensive care.
• Two off-site offices will close and be relocated to Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine.
• An emergency department reorganization will redirect non-emergent patients to other hospitals and clinics.
• A hiring freeze among academic faculty
• Additional staff reductions through not filling retiring faculty posts and other departures.

“Even as we look for ways of reducing costs and become more efficient, we must continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies, modern facilities, and strategic initiatives in order to ensure that Chicago BioMedicine can achieve its core missions,” stated Dr. James L. Madara, chief executive of the Medical Center.

“Such investments are necessary if we are to continue to provide medical care of the highest quality and safety, conduct agenda-setting research, educate the nation’s finest doctors and scholars, and lead the way in biomedicine,” Madara said.

Other hospitals have been hit with similar challenges — though in varying degrees. The Cleveland Clinic recently announced a hiring and salary freeze. Meanwhile, safety-net hospitals including Cleveland’s MetroHealth Medical Center and Minnesota’s Hennepin County Medical Center have announced planned job and cost cuts.