Blue Ridge HealthCare to Cut 90 Jobs

Blue Ridge HealthCare is not exactly a household name. As a matter of fact if you do not live in the local are you have probably never have heard of them in the past at all. For those of you who are not familiar with the company here is a look at how they describe themselves, “Located in the foothills of the Western North Carolina mountains, Blue Ridge HealthCare is a family of healthcare providers committed to a mission of “Enhancing Life by Excelling in Care.” Our service area includes Morganton, Lenoir, Valdese, Hildebran, Icard, Marion, Hickory, Granite Falls, Hudson, Spruce Pine and other nearby cities and towns. We are a modern and progressive organization with two hospitals (Grace and Valdese Hospitals), two long-term care facilities (Grace Heights and College Pines), a well-appointed retirement community (Grace Ridge), an advanced fitness facility (Phifer Wellness Center), a home healthcare company (Healthy @ Home), and numerous physician practices (Blue Ridge Medical Group).”

Apparently the company is hoping to do all of that without 90  of their jobs. The company will be cutting that many from one of its long term care facilities over the next two months. That makes this more than enough to qualify as a mass layoff action under the current federal guidelines. For those of you who are not familiar with the idea of a mass layoff action here is a look at how the federal government defines the term, “Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments—where private sector nonfarm employers indicate that 50 or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.”

The company is cutting the jobs after a dramatic decrease in the number of patients in the facility. The facility lost patents after an inspection, done earlier in this year, cost the facility its funding from patients with Medicaid and Medicare. The loss of these two populations, with its funding, has resulted in the job cuts, despite the fact that the facility is now open to new patients.

In a release put out by the company the facility outlined its reason for getting rid of staff, a decreased enrollment due to a lack of certification, or as the facility said, “Blue Ridge Health Care Center is currently not certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The Provider Agreement between CMS and Blue Ridge Health Care Center was terminated effective midnight April 26, 2012.

Blue Ridge Health Care Center has no plans to close.  We continue to seek recertification, and we continue to provide excellent health care to the residents and patients who remain. However, the lack of certification has led to a decline in the number of residents and patients at Blue Ridge Health Care Center, and as a result we can no longer offer employment to approximately 90 members of our current staff.”