St. Vincent’s HealthCare filed a layoff notice with the state Thursday that 228 employees would be affected in December, but President and CEO Moody Chisholm said it was only a matter of a vendor change and all the jobs are protected.
“There are no layoffs,” Chisholm said this morning.
St. Vincent’s is a member of Ascension Health, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health care system.
Chisholm said that Ascension Health negotiated to change the vendor handling housekeeping and food-service responsibilities at its hospitals. At St. Vincent’s, Sodexo will be replaced with Compass Group for that work.
Chisholm said negotiations with Compass required that it make the jobs available to the former Sodexo workers at the hospital facilities.
He said the negotiations with Compass included “hire every associate we have, offer everyone an opportunity and pay them at least as much as what they’re currently making and with benefits at least as good.”
Chisholm said the transition is planned in early December. The state filing, required of employers in the state making major layoffs, listed the dates as Dec. 3-16.
“We are obligated to do that filing,” he said. “Nobody is losing their job over this.”
Chisholm said the Compass CEO “shared that every single one would have an offer letter to evaluate if they want to come with Compass.”
“But we don’t want anyone to leave,” he said.
Chisholm said St. Vincent’s will meet with employees next week about the transition.
Chisholm, who said he began his hospital career in housekeeping, said Sodexo has been “a great company to work with.”
He said Ascension evaluated all of its vendors for food service and housekeeping throughout its hospitals and determined it was more efficient to work with one vendor.
In the area, St. Vincent’s system operates the St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Riverside, St. Luke’s Hospital in Southside and St. Catherine Laboure Manor, which provides short-term respite care, long-term care, 24-hour care or hospice care at the Riverside campus.
It is building a hospital in Clay County.
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