Borrego Health Lays Off 218 Employees

Palm Desert CA

25 May, 2022

7:17 PM

Description

BORREGO SPRINGS, CA — The nonprofit Borrego Community Health Foundation announced Wednesday that it is cutting 218 jobs from its payroll in an effort to ensure "the needs of all patients at current clinic locations" are met. The health care provider, which serves needy families at dozens of clinics across Riverside and San Diego counties, said in a news release that layoffs will not affect clinic hours or currently scheduled health appointments, nor do they involve physicians or Advanced Practice Providers who care for patients. The announcement did not mention clinic closures. A request for comment from a Borrego Health spokesperson was not immediately returned. "Without question, the past 18 months have been significantly challenging for Borrego Health. As we work to navigate our financial and legal issues, we are driven forward by our mission to provide primary care to the underserved," said Edgar Bulloch, M.D., CEO of Borrego Health. "Indeed, our patients in Riverside and San Diego counties need Borrego Health. That's why we're doing everything we can to overcome our challenges, even though it means making difficult decisions regarding the size of our workforce and our operational structure." In Riverside County, the layoffs are taking place at Borrego Health clinics in Anza, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Nuevo, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Riverside, San Jacinto, and Thermal, according to the Borrego Health announcement. The San Diego County layoffs are occurring at clinics in Borrego Springs, El Cajon, and Escondido, the provider said. The bulk of the cuts will be "clinic support" and call center jobs — 107 in total. "Borrego Health will increase its focus on the patient experience by shifting from a centralized call center to clinic-level customer support. The organization will close its Consolidated Call Center and allocate calls directly to the appropriate clinic for service," according to the announcement. Based on its patient volumes and provided services, its clinic staffing was being reduced in an effort "to increase care team effectiveness and improve patient care," the provider said. Eighteen phlebotomists, 14 nursing support positions, 11 nursing jobs and 10 people in radiology also got pink slips. Additional cuts are taking place in admin support, case management, dental, education, facilities, finance, human resources, information technology, legal, management, mobile services, nursing admin, and pharmacy, according to the announcement. All affected employees received a 60-day notice that their last day of employment will be July 24. "Borrego Health anticipates that the planned layoffs will be permanent," the provider announced. Tuesday's announcement follows news in October 2020 that federal investigators were probing the billing practices of Borrego Health. In October 2021, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the nonprofit was suing a prominent El Cajon developer for fraud.