Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, N.C., will hire the 81 employees who are set to be laid off by Conifer Health Solutions, the hospital announced yesterday.
Conifer had filed a notice with the North Carolina Department of Commerce announcing the layoffs. The announcement is a requirement that provides at least 60 days notice in advance of a mass layoff.
But instead of being out of work, those employees will work directly for the hospital instead.
A communications manager for the hospital said that the employees will be hired instead of being contracted through Conifer, which makes it seem like they will keep the same jobs they currently have. When working for Conifer, those 81 employees worked in debt collection operations
Conifer, which is a unit of Tenet Healthcare, employee 16,000 people nationwide. Tenet has announced plans to sell the Conifer unit as a means of reducing its overall expenses. The healthcare company is overladen with debt and its major shareholders have been lobbying for big changes to be made at the company. Tenet is carrying $15 billion in debt, according to a published report.
