Employees laid off at Community Health Centers demand transparency and communication from management
BURLINGTON, Vt. —
Employees laid off at Community Health Centers are demanding transparency and communication from management, following another round of layoffs last week.
Employees said they feel blindsided and want to understand why jobs continue to be eliminated as leadership increasingly expects they see more patients.
“When we fight, we win,” chanted employees outside CHC Riverside on Wednesday.
Dozens of Vermonters spoke out against CHC’s board Wednesday afternoon.
“CHC can be better and do better,” said Lou Rochford.
Rochford is one of seven CHC employees who were laid off last week.
“I was feeling really perplexed about what was occurring,” said Rochford.
On July 13, CHC’s management announced it would be laying off two-thirds of its billing department and two health information management representatives.
Interim CEO Dr. Harry Chen said the organization has faced serious economic challenges in recent years.
“We’re already feeling so stressed and demoralized,” said Samuel Lurie, a clinician at CHC.
Employees said they later learned management signed a contract with Medusind, a third-party company to outsource billing operations with call centers in India.
“Community, not call centers,” the group chanted.
“I’m often telling patients who are very nervous about getting a bill, ‘I got this big bill, what do I do?’ Call billing,” said Lurie. “I do not feel confident telling them to call a call center.”
Employees said there are 92 different languages spoken by patients at CHC facilities across Vermont. CHC has in-house interpretation, but employees said Medusind does not, causing them to worry it will create barriers for some patients.
“Patients will not seek health care,” said Lurie. “They will not come and get health care if they’re afraid. ‘If I come in, I’m going to get this huge bill, or I already have a big bill, and I don’t know what to do with it. So, I’m not going to continue with my care.’ So that then becomes a health crisis.”
This is the second round of layoffs at CHC within the past year. A CHC spokesperson said a total of 12 positions were eliminated.
Now, employees said they need transparency and communication with management. They’re advocating for better quality healthcare for their patients.
“Really underfunded the type of care that supports community health, like Community Health Centers, primary care, preventative care,” said community activist Matt Gile. “And those are the investments we need to make if we want to keep our community healthy.”
In a statement to NBC5, Dr. Chen said:
“Our immediate focus is on supporting those who are directly affected. These are difficult decisions that were necessary to help us maintain our trajectory toward financial stability.”
Chen said three of the people fired last week are staying with the agency in other positions. Several other team members from the other round of layoffs were also offered different positions.
Former employees, and the union representing them, started a petition opposing these cuts after the last round of layoffs. It already has more than 120 signatures.