UIHC reduces expenses, but layoffs few

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has seen a reduction of about 650 positions compared to this time last year, but only 12 of those have been layoffs, officials said today. Most of the position reductions have come through attrition -- not filling jobs once they become vacant -- and early retirements. That 650 number does include 148 full-time equivalent positions cut through a reduction in force, but all of those people, other than the 12 layoffs, have been repositioned within UIHC or UI Health Care, or they are on the list to be put in different jobs, officials said. UI Vice President for Medical Affairs Jean Robillard and UIHC CEO Ken Kates talked with reporters today about the more than $30 million in budget cuts and expense reductions at the hospital and in UI Health Care. Robillard said he feels the hospital has "turned a corner," and that revenues are on the rise. Officials also are moving forward with a plan for a new ambulatory care clinic in Coralville at River Landing, an expansion that had been put on hold due to the economy. Robillard will take a plan for that center to the state Board of Regents in Feburary. Read tomorrow's Gazette for more details on the interview with Robillard and Kates.