A controversial plan to cut 188 staff positions across the Alameda Health System will be aired out at a public hearing on Wednesday in Oakland.<\/p>\n
Leaders of AHS \u2014 the East Bay public health provider that operates Highland Hospital, Eastmont Wellness, Alameda Hospital, San Leandro Hospital, John George Psychiatric Hospital, and other health care centers \u2014 have put forth a proposal to lay off staff in anticipation of major reductions in revenue due to H.R. 1<\/a>, the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d approved by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump last year.<\/p>\n A plan<\/a> published in early February on AHS\u2019s website details 188 staff positions that are slated for elimination, most of them currently filled. The cuts would fall on nurses, therapists, counselors, administrative assistants, food service workers, housekeepers, social workers, and many other roles.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some programs would be entirely eliminated. Cuts fall especially hard on programs serving people with mental illness.<\/p>\n Highland Hospital\u2019s Outpatient Behavioral Health Wellness Program<\/a> would see 13 staff positions cut, leading to its closure. The program provides long-term supportive group therapy and individual therapy for people with moderate to severe mental illnesses, and monthly visits with a psychiatrist to monitor medication, according to AHS. Thirty job cuts at the Fairmont Outpatient Behavioral Health Program<\/a> would lead to its closure. That program currently serves people with moderate to severe mental illness through partial hospitalization and outpatient<\/p>\n