MIAMI (CBSMiami) – One of Jackson Health Systems governing board committees has approved the plan from chief executive officer to cut more than 1,100 jobs from the hospital system, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
The committee’s approval will, Jackson hopes, make it tougher for Miami-Dade Commissioners to stop the massive layoffs at Miami-Dade’s public hospital. The Miami-Dade Commission is set to meet next Thursday to consider Jackson CEO Carlos Migoya’s decision to fire workers.
According to the Herald, the commission must have a two-thirds vote to overturn any decision for layoffs from the full Jackson board, which is set to meet later this month.
The Miami-Dade Commission passed the two-thirds provision last year after a grand jury and a blue-ribbon panel of healthcare experts criticized the commission for getting involved with Jackson operations too frequently, according to the Herald.
The Jackson committee’s vote was unanimous after abysmal financial reports were revealed about how much money Jackson was set to hemorrhage. According to the Herald, Jackson’s official loss for the last year was $81.4 million, but the working capital deficit in 2011 was $112 million.
By combining the layoffs with large concessions from labor groups representing hospital workers, Jackson said it would run a surplus starting in May, according to the Herald. That means the fiscal hole Jackson will find itself in come October 1 will be roughly $20.5 million.
The Herald reported the system has lost $419 million over the past three years.
