Butler Memorial Hospital staffer Tara Erskine is ready for change.<\/p>\n
Erskine, 30, of Kittanning has worked as a CT scan technologist at the Butler hospital for eight years. A member of the hospital\u2019s technologists union, Erskine is optimistic about Butler Memorial being partnered with West Virginia University Health System.<\/p>\n
Officials announced Wednesday that Independence Health Systems\u2019 five hospitals \u2014 Greensburg, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, Clarion and Butler \u2014 will join the Morgantown-based system.<\/p>\n
The merger agreement includes an $800 million commitment from the WVU system over the next five years to strengthen the Independence hospitals and affiliated physician groups.<\/p>\n
Independence Health spokesperson Kelley Skoloda said all employees in good standing will be maintained for at least one year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWVU Medicine usually consolidates several back-office functions \u2014 HR, legal, compliance, IT and parts of finance \u2014 and many of these roles remain hospital-based,\u201d Skoloda said via email. \u201cMost support services stay entirely at the local level, and there is a record of job growth with previous acquisitions. This balanced approach preserves jobs, keeps resources close to patients and strengthens efficiency across the system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skoloda declined to provide further comment.<\/p>\n
West Virginia University Health System spokeswoman Angela Jones declined to comment, deferring to Skoloda\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n
Erskine and her colleagues at Butler Memorial have not received much word about what the merger will entail.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I know is what we\u2019ve been working with \u2014 and that it\u2019s not working,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that this is a good change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018False promises\u2019<\/p>\n
This is the second time in recent history that Butler Memorial will change health systems.<\/p>\n
Butler Health System \u2014 consisting of Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals \u2014 merged in 2023<\/a> with Excela Health\u2019s Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Latrobe Hospital in Latrobe and Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg.<\/p>\n The health care conglomerate became known as the Independence Health System.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever we formed Independence,\u201d Erskine said, \u201cthey promised us a lot of changes and improvements. And since we merged with them and formed Independence Health System, it just kind of feels like those were a bunch of false promises.\u201d<\/p>\n Independence has had its fair share of ups and downs.<\/p>\n Prior to the merger, Butler and Excela saw nearly $83 million in combined losses in 2022. One year later, losses decreased<\/a> but still fell well into eight figures \u2014 about $74 million.<\/p>\n Losses dropped to just shy of $41.5 million in 2024<\/a> \u2014 about a 50% reduction.<\/p>\n Related:<\/p>\n \u2022 Independence Health announces merger with WVU Health System<\/a><\/p>\n Tom Albanesi, Independence\u2019s chief financial officer, told TribLive this month<\/a> that losses are expected to again be cut in half by the end of this year. Four of Independence\u2019s five hospitals have seen increases in excess revenue from June 2024 to last June.<\/p>\n Independence cut 226 positions<\/a> in 2023 \u2014 the same year it lost almost $23 million across a three month span. It reported layoffs<\/a> of 151 employees in April.<\/p>\n About 240 technologists and licensed nurse practitioners, including Erskine, unionized in May under the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP.<\/p>\n One of the motivators for creating the union, Erskine said, was the change in staff benefits that came with the formation of Independence Health. This led to a reduction in staff at Butler Memorial which, in Erskine\u2019s assessment, was uncommon for the hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were used to having really good benefits for our staff,\u201d she said, \u201cand once that was stripped from us, a lot of the older staff had no reason to stay, because they could find the same thing somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n Union pushes for continued contract under WVU<\/p>\n Erskine is not alone in her cautious optimism.<\/p>\n Emma Henry, a materials management worker at Frick Hospital, spoke positively about the merger on behalf of the 280 hospital staffers represented by SEIU, Service Employees International Union \u2014 Healthcare Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are optimistic and hopeful that joining WVU Health System will lead to greater investment in and expansion of services for our patients,\u201d Henry said via email.<\/p>\n Henry emphasized the importance of WVU Health honoring the union\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand ready to work collaboratively with WVU leadership for the future success of our hospital,\u201d she said. \u201cTogether, we can preserve and enhance quality services and good union jobs for our community moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Keep care here in our community\u2019<\/p>\n If anyone can forecast Independence\u2019s future under WVU Health System, it\u2019s Paul Means Jr.<\/p>\n Means, 56, of Bullskin is the director of primary and ambulatory care at Uniontown Hospital, which was absorbed by WVU Health in 2020. The Fayette County hospital in 2019 lost several of its services when UPMC pulled out<\/a> of a physician partnership.<\/p>\n \u201c(Uniontown Hospital) was not in a good situation at the time when WVU Medicine came in,\u201d Means said.<\/p>\n Since coming under WVU Health\u2019s wing, Uniontown Hospital has expanded its workforce and services.<\/p>\n Staff has grown by nearly 30% since 2022, Jones said \u2014 from nearly 900 to more than 1,100 employees.<\/p>\n The hospital is now home to cancer treatment, birthing, stroke and orthopedic and spine centers, Jones said. It has expanded its cardiology services, brought in a neurosurgeon and launched a home health and hospice sector.<\/p>\n A Connellsville native, Means was an independent physician in the region for about 20 years before being hired by WVU Health System. He said having a wider variety of local health care services is crucial for the rural community\u2019s aging residents, who have limited transportation capacities.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose WVU \u2026 because I wanted somebody that was going to keep the care here in our community, and they did that,\u201d Means said. \u201cThey held true to every promise they made us here, and I think they\u2019ll do the same for Independence.\u201d<\/p>\n Independence employees \u2018trying to piece everything together\u2019<\/p>\n Tammy May, an ICU nurse at Butler Memorial, remains uncertain about how the two health systems will be joined.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bulk of us are still just trying to piece everything together,\u201d said May, local union president of PASNAP at Butler Memorial. \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to figure out if it\u2019s an acquisition or a merger.\u201d<\/p>\n If the two systems are merging, she said, the three-year contract her union settled with Independence Health in May should be honored. But, if it\u2019s an acquisition, the roughly 500-member bargaining unit likely would have to renegotiate.<\/p>\n She said the union hasn\u2019t been able to get clarification on that point from management.<\/p>\n May said she hopes the joining with WVU Health System will be smoother for her union members than the one between Butler Health and Excela Health that created Independence.<\/p>\n Having to work with management separated by county lines, she said, created a human resources communication problem for union members.<\/p>\n When some members submitted a leave request, it might take months before they would learn if the leave was granted, she said.<\/p>\n As a result, she said the new union contract contains language requiring that members receive an answer to a leave request within a specified number of working days.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that the WVU entity will be a much better collaborator,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Staff writer Jeff Himler contributed to this story.<\/p>\n Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Butler Memorial Hospital staffer Tara Erskine is ready for change. 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