UC Health to eliminate 50 jobs, sunset mobile stroke unit

Cincinnati-based UC Health has laid off about 50 employees — less than 1% of its workforce — as it reevaluates services and redirects resources to high-demand areas with a focus on long-term sustainability.

Affected employees have been offered severance and are eligible to apply for other positions within the system, UC Health said in a Sept. 4 statement shared with Becker’s.

The workforce cuts come amid a series of strategic shifts at the academic health system, including plans to close the Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care by Sept. 30 and sell its adjacent assisted living facility, Bridgeway Pointe. About 474 employees are anticipated to be laid off with the move, according to a WARN notice filed May 29. 

“This decision, while difficult, is a strategic step forward ensuring we can grow with purpose, expand access to high-quality care and meet the changing needs of our community,” Robert Wiehe, senior vice president and COO of UC Health, said. 

In a separate announcement, UC Health said it will end operations of its Mobile Stroke Unit by Sept. 19 due to low patient volumes and high operating costs. All mobile stroke unit workers will remain employed, and the system’s larger mobile care team will continue to provide specialized transport services in the region, including with the area’s only mobile ICU, according to the health system. 

This plan allows us to redirect resources to where they are needed most for our patients, expanding our ability to deliver lifesaving care to more people,” Brett Kissela, MD, director of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute and chief of research services at UC Health, said in a Sept. 5 news release. “We will continue advancing stroke research and pioneering care through our internationally recognized UC Comprehensive Stroke Center.” 

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