Mercy cutting up to 300 jobs, Springfield impact unknown

Last edited 1:44 p.m., June 5, 2014

St. Louis-based health care system Mercy plans to cut 200 to 300 jobs later this month, but the impact on Springfield workers is unknown, a spokeswoman said.

"We don’t know yet how many co-workers in Springfield will be affected," Mercy Springfield spokeswoman Sonya Kullmann said via email.

Mercy's workforce of roughly 40,000 extends across seven states. Mercy Springfield Communities employs over 11,000 workers at some 116 sites in Springfield, Lebanon, Cassville, Aurora, Mountain View and Berryville, Ark.

The affected positions would be support functions and direct patient care jobs would not be affected, according to a statement from Mercy.

"Like all health care providers, Mercy is managing the impact of market changes, including reimbursement reductions from government and commercial payers, as well as lack of Medicaid expansion in most of the states we serve," the statement reads. "We have been expecting and preparing for these changes for several years and have made tremendous progress in redesigning the health delivery system to meet evolving needs.

"As part of our transformation, we have consolidated many non-patient care support services to streamline how we work and achieve greater efficiencies."

In Missouri, Medicaid expansion again failed to gain traction during this year's session of the state legislature.

Mercy Springfield Communities in April opened the $28 million, 63,000-square-foot Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital Springfield near U.S. Highway 65 and Evans Road. It sits adjacent to Mercy's $115 million orthopedic hospital, which opened last fall.[[In-content Ad]]