UI Health workers offered separation incentives

Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services

UI Health will offer a voluntary separation incentive program to eligible hospital and clinic employees beginning May 1.

Reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and other changes related to the Affordable Care Act have presented “significant financial challenges,” vice president for health affairs Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia writes in a letter sent Tuesday to UI Health staff members.

“Given the potential magnitude of these financial changes, reductions in staff are inevitable,” he said.

“In response, the voluntary separation incentive program is being implemented to provide an incentive to qualified employees who may wish to resign or retire, allowing us to reduce the size of the hospital and clinics workforce without compromising patient care.”

Eligible employees include full- and part-time hospital and clinic employees who have an academic professional appointment or a nonunion-represented civil service appointment. Employees must have completed four years of service as of Monday.

Employees who are not eligible include faculty physicians, visiting academic professionals, administrators in positions ineligible for notice of nonreappointment, union-represented civil service employees, extra help employees, academic hourly employees and State University Retirement System annuitants.

Employees approved for the program would receive a lump-sum payment equal to 50 percent of their annual base pay, up to $60,000. The payment, distributed 45 days after separation of employment, is not subject to SURS contributions.

“We hope that this plan will ease the transition for employees as we position the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System for the future and continue our mission of providing high quality, cost-effective health care to the people of Illinois,” Garcia said.

More information will be available at 10 scheduled workshops:

• today, noon-1:30 p.m. or 4-5:30 p.m., 32 Pharmacy

• Thursday, 7:30-9 a.m. or noon-1:30 p.m., 36 Pharmacy

• Friday, 7:30-9 a.m., 36 Pharmacy, or noon-1:30 p.m., 32 Pharmacy

• May 1, noon-1:30 p.m., 36 Pharmacy, or 4-5:30 p.m., 32 Pharmacy

• May 2, 7:30-9 a.m. or noon-1:30 p.m., 36 Pharmacy

Register for the workshops at VSIP@uic.edu