Cookeville Regional Medical Center is placing 400 employees on furlough, officials announced Monday, April 6.

That’s 17% of the hospital’s 2,400 employees. Several hundred employees will see a reduction in hours, according to a press release.

CRMC CEO Paul Korth said the 400 are employed in areas that do not involve treatment of COVID-19 patients. In a telephone interview on April 6, he said CRMC had five inpatient COVID-19 patients. Three staff members had tested positive and were in self-quarantine at home, he said.

Employees were notified of the furloughs at about 1 p.m. April 6 when a memo went out to all staff.

Furloughed employees will be eligible for state and federal unemployment benefits, he said. CRMC will also pay 100 percent of the furloughed employees’ medical benefits, Korth said.

Korth said many of CRMC’s outpatient services had dropped to zero patient volume because of the ongoing pandemic.

“Over the past few weeks, the government has passed a number of mandates that have affected hospitals in regard to procedures and patient volume. CRMC, like other hospitals across the country, has drastically reduced patient volumes for two reasons: to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to prepare for a high surge in patients with COVID-19. As a result, CRMC must make adjustments in staffing for the long-term stability of the medical center,” according to the release.

The furloughs have been made in “administrative and non-clinical areas, as well as with PRN (as needed) staff,” according to the release. “Adjustments have also been made in outpatient clinical areas that now have low or no patient volume.”

CRMC can quickly bring furloughed employees back, Korth said.

“We want the community to know that we are prepared for a higher surge of patients when it comes,” states Korth.

“You may be asking why are we reducing workforce at a time like this, and the reason is simple. We must preserve our financial resources now in order to direct more of them to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We have seen a significant reduction in revenues while we are not doing elective surgeries and procedures, and we must be good financial stewards for the hospital’s long-term success. Our community expects us to preserve our hospital for the long-term. We are doing everything we can and also look after our employees, both in the short-term and the long-term. When we begin receiving a large number of COVID-19 patients, we will be able to call staff back in and be able to care for them.”

Korth said hospital staff don’t know how the ongoing pandemic will affect CRMC’s finances.

CRMC remains open, as does its emergency department and urgent care.

But the hospital has stopped doing elective surgeries and much of the outpatient diagnostic testing has been rescheduled. Korth said normally, CRMC would do more than 200 diagnostic images per day, including things like X-rays, MRIs and CT scans. Now, they’re doing 25-30 images per day, all emergency cases.

“Volunteers have declined significantly throughout the building,” Korth said. “We’re continuing to provide the services that we need to during the pandemic.”

Earlier Monday, April 6, Gov. Bill Lee announced the state has set aside $10 million in grants for rural hospitals to keep them afloat during the crisis. Korth said CRMC will apply for funding with that grant, as well as money through the federal stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on March 27.