Hospitals are cutting back. I could see this in the headlines, but it is confirmed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports more mass layoffs than ever at U.S. hospitals in 2008. American Medical News reports that physicians are among the workers being laid off and that cutbacks are forced by high unemployment, tight credit, and other economic trends.
Layoffs are just a glimpse into the cutbacks hospitals are undertaking. Most hospitals are able to cut staffing through attrition and selective pay freezes, so the number of hospitals cutting back is far more than the 107 that had mass layoffs.
