Hunter
10/08/20
Citing losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mercy Iowa City has announced that 29 people will be laid off just before Thanksgiving.
The notice filed with Iowa Workforce Development indicates that the layoffs are effective Saturday November 21st. The state requires employers planning on laying off 25 or more employees for a period exceeding six months to post a 30-day notice. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports hospital spokesman Aaron Schienblum said the hospital reported with a 60-day notice to allow those being laid off to continue to receive pay while looking at their options, either within the Mercy One health system or outside of it.
Scheinblum added in an the email response to the paper that the affected positions come from a “variety of non-specific areas in the hospital” and not specifically tied to the hospital’s inpatient mental and behavioral health unit, which is to be closed before the end of the year.
That unit will accept its last patient to the unit on November 1st, and the hospital says they are expanding their outpatient service, where they feel there is a greater community need.