COVID-19通過減薪和裁員打擊了一些醫(yī)療工作者

COVID-19通過減薪和裁員打擊了一些醫(yī)療工作者

Just three weeks ago, Dr. Kathryn Davis worried about the novel coronavirus but not about how it might impact her group of five OB-GYNs who practice at a suburban hospital outside Boston.

就在三周前，凱瑟琳·戴維斯博士擔(dān)心新型冠狀病毒，但不擔(dān)心它會對她在波士頓郊外一家醫(yī)院實(shí)習(xí)的五名婦產(chǎn)科醫(yī)生產(chǎn)生什么影響。

"In medicine, we think we're relatively immune from the economy," Davis says.

“在醫(yī)學(xué)界，我們認(rèn)為自己相對而言不受經(jīng)濟(jì)影響，”戴維斯說。

"People are always going to get sick; people are always going to need doctors."

“人們總是會生病;人們總是需要醫(yī)生。”

Then two weeks ago, she watched her practice revenue drop 50% almost overnight after Massachusetts officials told doctors and hospitals to stop performing elective tests and procedures. For Davis, that meant no more nonurgent gynecological visits and screenings.

兩周前，她眼看著自己的診所收入幾乎一夜之間下降了50%，原因是馬薩諸塞州官員要求醫(yī)生和醫(yī)院停止進(jìn)行選擇性檢查和手術(shù)。對戴維斯來說，這意味著不再有非緊急婦訪問和檢查。

Late last week, as Davis and her partners absorbed the stunning turn of events, they devised a stop-gap plan. The 35 nurses, medical assistants and secretaries they employ would have two options: move from full time to part time or start collecting unemployment. Doctors in the practice would take a substantial pay cut. Davis says she's hearing from colleagues who may have to permanently close their offices if the focus on crisis-level care continues for months.

上周晚些時候，當(dāng)戴維斯和她的伙伴們沉浸在這一令人震驚的轉(zhuǎn)折之中時，他們想出了一個權(quán)宜之計(jì)。他們雇傭的35名護(hù)士、醫(yī)療助理和秘書有兩種選擇:從全職轉(zhuǎn)為兼職，或者開始領(lǐng)取失業(yè)救濟(jì)金。行醫(yī)的醫(yī)生會被大幅減薪。戴維斯說，她聽到一些同事說，如果對危機(jī)級醫(yī)療的關(guān)注持續(xù)幾個月，他們可能不得不永久關(guān)閉辦公室。

Patient volume way down

病人數(shù)量下降

Atrius Health, the largest independent physician group in Massachusetts, says patient volume is down 75% since mid-March. It is temporarily closing offices, placing many nonclinical employees on furlough and withholding pay for those who remain. The average withholding is 20%, and the company pledges that pay withheld will be returned. The lowest-paid workers, those earning up to $55.000. are exempt.

馬薩諸塞州最大的獨(dú)立醫(yī)師團(tuán)體Atrius Health說，自3月中旬以來，病人數(shù)量下降了75%。它暫時關(guān)閉了一些辦公室，讓許多非臨床工作人員暫時休假，并扣留那些留下來的員工的工資。平均預(yù)扣20%，公司承諾會退還預(yù)扣的工資。收入在5.5萬美元以下的最低工資工人可以被豁免。

"What we're trying to do is piece together a solution to get through the crisis and keep employed as many people as we can," said Atrius CEO Dr. Steve Strongwater.

Atrius首席執(zhí)行官史蒂夫·斯特朗沃特博士表示:“我們正在努力拼湊出一個解決方案，以度過危機(jī)，并盡可能多地留住員工。”

Strongwater said physician groups must be included when the federal government distributes $100 billion to hospitals from the $2 trillion stimulus package.

斯特朗沃特說，當(dāng)聯(lián)邦政府從2萬億美元的經(jīng)濟(jì)刺激計(jì)劃中拿出1.000億美元分配給醫(yī)院時，必須將醫(yī)師團(tuán)體包括在內(nèi)。

A 'seismic financial shock'

“地震般的金融沖擊”

Dallas-based Steward Health Care has told hospital employees in Massachusetts and the eight other states where it operates to expect furloughs focused on nonclinical staff.

總部位于達(dá)拉斯的Steward Health Care已告知馬薩諸塞州和其他八個州的醫(yī)院員工，將對非臨床工作人員實(shí)施強(qiáng)制休假。

In a statement, Steward Health Care said it prepared for the pandemic but is experiencing a "seismic financial shock."

世衛(wèi)組織在一份聲明中說，它已經(jīng)為大流行做好了準(zhǔn)備，但目前正在經(jīng)歷一場“地震般的金融沖擊”。

"Elective surgeries are the cornerstone of our hospital system's operating model — and the negative impact due to the cancellations of these procedures cannot be overstated. In addition, patients are understandably cautious and choosing to defer any non-emergency treatments or routine visits until this crisis has passed."

“擇期手術(shù)是我們醫(yī)院系統(tǒng)運(yùn)作模式的基石，取消這些手術(shù)的負(fù)面影響怎么強(qiáng)調(diào)都不過分。”此外，可以理解的是，病人都很謹(jǐn)慎，他們選擇推遲任何非緊急治療或常規(guī)訪問，直到危機(jī)過去。”