On the heels of several managerial layoffs at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA), the hospital’s top official says more positions will likely be eliminated.
Adam Topp, CKHA’s president and CEO, said the hospital ended its 2024/2025 fiscal year with a $13.5 million deficit. The current budgeted deficit for 2025/2026 is $5 million.
In an effort to reduce the deficit further, the hospital announced last month that it had eliminated eight management positions across the organization as part of a “corporate structure review,” which resulted in five layoffs. The decision will save the organization around $1 million.
However, Topp said additional measures are still needed to address the deficit.
“We’re looking at ways to raise revenue and be more efficient across the board, and we will certainly be engaging with the community and our staff as we’re ready to implement those,” said Topp.
He added that other non-management positions will “quite likely” be eliminated in an effort to cut costs.
“It’s pretty hard to address a deficit that large without addressing some positions. 75 per cent of our expenses are people, we’re a service organization,” said Topp. “There may well be [more] positions eliminated in the organization, and we’ll certainly do our best to do that over a period of time, associated with attrition and looking at vacancies.”
Topp said it’s important that the organization reduce its deficit to zero, adding that CKHA currently has a three-year plan to address its financial challenges.
“We can’t invest in the capital to maintain our infrastructure and maintain our equipment unless we are at least balanced,” said Topp. “Otherwise, staff and patients are getting frustrated because they don’t have equipment that works.”
