Massachusetts system to conduct ‘workforce assessment, organizational redesign’

South Weymouth, Mass.-based South Shore Health has shared plans to conduct a workforce assessment and organization redesign as part of initiatives to ensure the health system’s financial sustainability and long-term success.

Some of the initiatives include strengthening South Shore’s revenue cycle, enhancing operational efficiencies throughout the system, renegotiating contracts with payers to ensure market-based reimbursement rates for its services and collaborating with suppliers to appropriately manage expenses, Allen Smith, MD, president and CEO of South Shore Health, said in an Aug. 24 statement shared with Becker’s.

“As part of this multi-faceted approach, we have also made the difficult decision to engage in a workforce assessment and organizational redesign,” Dr. Smith said.

While South Shore Health would not detail the number of employees affected by the assessment and redesign with Becker’s, an internal memo to employees obtained by The Boston Globe revealed that the system has laid off 51 employees and has plans to cut further staff before the end of September to close an anticipated $60 million budget hold in 2026. 

Of the 51 laid off employees, six were senior executives. The health system also eliminated an additional 24 vacant roles, The Boston Globe reported. 

“We understand that these changes may have a significant impact on you and your colleagues,” the memo said, according to the publication. “Please know that these decisions are not a reflection on individual performance, but a necessary step to align our workforce for the future.”

The restructuring comes amid years of providing patient care as nearby hospitals faced their own challenges.

In February 2023, a fire shut down Brockton (Mass.) Hospital, part of Brockton-based Signature Health, bringing an increased number of patients to South Shore. The system was then forced to add hundreds of temporary staff positions. Brockton Hospital reopened in August 2024, but South Shore was also faced with setbacks that spurred from area hospitals owned by Dallas-based Steward Health Care, which sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2024. 

Boston Medical Center Health System acquired Brockton-based Good Samaritan Medical Center and Brighton, Mass.-based St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center from Steward in October 2024.

With the pressures coming off of South Shore, the health system expects to reach a breakeven financial point this fall, The Boston Globe reported.

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