Carle Health is offering voluntary separation agreements to some employees as the Urbana-based health care system seeks to cut costs.
Carle Health spokesperson Brittany Simon said the program is only available to employees not working in direct patient care areas. This allows the health care system to reduce long-term costs while also allowing eligible employees to leave with financial support.
Simon said the cuts won't impact the scope of services offered in Greater Peoria or elsewhere.
The reason for the cuts was attributed to "ongoing financial challenges of the current healthcare environment."
The spokesperson didn't elaborate on those challenges. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings both rate Carle at AA-. Fitch gave a stable outlook for Carle in June.
"Carle's balance sheet strength affords the organization time to weather the current economic challenges, and long-term capital-related ratios should remain strong even in a stress case scenario," a Fitch report stated.
Becker's Hospital Review reports S&P has a negative outlook for the health care system, citing "declining days of cash on hand and persistent operating losses."
Carle Health acquired Methodist, Proctor, and Pekin hospitals from UnityPoint Health earlier this year.
