East Alabama Medical Center announced on Thursday that its leadership team will be taking temporary pay cuts because the coronavirus pandemic has affected the hospital's ability to generate revenue.
“In an attempt to avoid impacting frontline staff as we are seeing elsewhere in Alabama and across the country, we are making some temporary pay cuts," said Laura Grill, president and CEO of EAMC. "I asked our senior leadership team to take the first cut and then we asked our employed physicians as well. Then, yesterday, we communicated a reduction in pay to the rest of our leadership team —our directors and managers."
Grill said she hopes these cuts are temporary and that business will return to normal in the near future.
"I am immensely proud of our team and entire organization, and thankful for the support of our community as we navigate these challenges," Grill said.
The hospital states its inability to do surgical operations and physician office operations — and the cost related to COVID-19 testing — as the cause of the pay cuts.
As of publication, there are 2,603 total confirmed cases in Alabama, 195 of which are in Lee County.
[ Letter to the editor: It's make or break time — the math behind social distancing. ]
The hospital reported on Wednesday that it has submitted 1,675 COVID-19 tests, and 15.9% have come back positive for the novel coronavirus.
EAMC also reports that, as of Wednesday afternoon, 43 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, plus an additional 18 people who are hospitalized with suspected cases of COVID-19. Thirty one people who were hospitalized have been discharged, and 16 people who were suspected of having COVID-19 have since received a negative test result.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Eduardo Medina, senior in journalism, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
