Borrego Health announces 218 layoffs in Riverside, San Diego county clinics

Borrego Health medical assistant Yesenia Perez prepares a batch of immunization shots for a patient at Borrego Health’s Cathedral City clinic, December 28, 2015.

Borrego Well being announced Wednesday that 218 staff from a amount of positions in its Riverside and San Diego county offices will be laid off this summer in an exertion to “assure the sustainability of obtain to treatment” to clinics in underserved areas, claimed CEO Dr. Edgar Bulloch.

Borrego Wellbeing is a federally capable health and fitness center, which signifies it receives money from the federal government to deliver major treatment providers in underserved places. In 2021, Borrego Well being served more than 120,500 sufferers and had extra than 463,000 visits.

Among the impacted positions are 11 in nursing, 14 in nursing assist, 70 in clinic guidance, 37 in the connect with centre, 18 phlebotomists and 8 dental workers users. No medical professionals or innovative practitioner providers will be laid off.

Staff will be laid off on July 24, and Borrego Overall health anticipates that the planned layoffs will be long term. Afflicted employees will acquire a 60 times notice in compliance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Bulloch stated no changes to client treatment are anticipated, so clinic several hours will stay the exact same and scheduled appointments will continue.

Offices impacted by the workforce reduction incorporate:

Riverside County

Anza Group Overall health Center: 58-581 US Freeway 371, Suite F, G, H, Anza
Arlanza Family Health and fitness Centre: 8856 Arlington Ave., Riverside
Borrego Admin At Cook Avenue: 41-865 Boardwalk, Suite #201-213, Palm Desert
Borrego Admin at Iowa Road: 1700 Iowa Ave., Riverside
Borrego Overall health Specialty Care Centre: 12-520 Palm Generate, Desert Sizzling Springs
Centro Medico Cathedral City: 69-175 Ramon Highway, Cathedral City
Centro Medico Coachella: 55-497 Van Buren St., Thermal
Centro Medio Oasis: 88-775 76th Ave., Thermal
DHS Health and fitness & Wellness Centre: 11-750 Cholla Generate, Desert Warm Springs
Desert Warm Springs Well being Center: 66-675 Pierson Blvd., Desert Scorching Springs
Eastside Overall health Centre: 1970 and 1971 College Ave., Riverside
Jay Hoffman Health and fitness Middle: 29-490 Lakeview Ave., Nuevo
Martha’s Village Clinic: 83-791 Day Ave., Indio
Palm Springs Relatives Well being: 1100 N. Palm Canyon Generate, Palm Springs
San Jacinto Wellness Center: 651 North Condition St., San Jacinto
Stonewall Health-related Middle: 68-555 Ramon Street, Cathedral Metropolis

San Diego County

Borrego Springs Admin/Pharmacy/Dental Offices: 587 & 590 Palm Canyon Push, Borrego Springs
Borrego Healthcare Centre: 343 Yaqui Pass Road, Borrego Springs
Centro Medico Escondido: 1111, 1121, 1151 East Washington, Escondido
Centro Medico El Cajon: 133 West Major St., El Cajon

“We have an understanding of the essentiality of keeping our clinics open, and so we are possessing to make some tricky conclusions to assure the sustainability of entry to treatment for our clinics,” Bulloch explained to The Desert Solar on Tuesday. “Our clinics are placed in these strategically underserved locations, and so there is certainly dire entry to treatment issues. For example, the japanese Coachella Valley, the ratio of suppliers to people is 1 to 4,500.”

Bulloch said the organization looked at ratios from service provider benchmarks and other federally capable wellness facilities to establish productive care teams. When comparing those quantities in opposition to Borrego Health’s personal care groups, Bulloch claimed “we did have some added personnel.”

“The target is to just become effective, and I imagine owning the care crew support that can perform extra intently collectively is likely to be what is actually likely to permit us to be prosperous,” he added.

Other operational changes include closing the Consolidated Simply call Heart and allocating phone calls instantly to the acceptable clinic for service. The clinic-amount help personnel will be adjusted to accommodate the raise in clinic connect with volume, according to a push launch. This adjust is “far better for patients,” Bulloch said, because they will be able to discuss to the buyer assistance associates on web page at their clinic.

The information of the layoffs arrives just months after the organization announced the Barstow Group Wellness Heart in Barstow and D Avenue Health-related Middle in San Bernardino would near and layoff staff on Feb. 1. Its billing division in Borrego Springs was outsourced and laid off as well. There have been 113 employees immediately influenced by the layoffs. The Desert Oasis Women’s Clinic in Palm Springs was also closed and relocated.

Bulloch explained Borrego Health and fitness did “all the things that we could” for these influenced staff members, together with sharing job openings inside of the company — many staff members from the San Bernardino clinic had been rehired at a further clinic, he said — and holding occupation fairs for Barstow employees.

“I want the exact same detail to take place this time all over,” Bulloch explained. “We want to make confident that you can find a changeover, you will find a strategy for these staff members.” That could include things like connecting them to worker aid plans that deliver aid with resume composing and job interview capabilities.

The improvements also come as Borrego Wellness has professional economical and authorized troubles in the final 18 months. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Borrego Health and fitness and Premiere Health care, a clinical billing firm that served Borrego Wellness, workplaces were raided by the FBI and condition law enforcement in October 2020 as section of a criminal investigation into likely Medicare fraud. Equally providers said last calendar year that the criminal scenario involved a single dental clinic or a couple facilities.

Months afterwards, the California Section of Overall health Treatment Expert services suspended Medi-Cal payments to the Borrego Group Wellness Foundation, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

In regards to the Department of Justice investigation, Bulloch explained the group is “fully cooperating for the reason that we would like to have a quick resolution to this so we can shift on and concentrate on individual care.” He extra that condition payments for medical care were reinstated in February 2021, but Borrego Well being is not being compensated for its in-home dental care.

“We have compliance screens that are doing work with us to make absolutely sure that we are … working to the utmost integrity on every thing that we do, so I’m self-confident that we’re shifting ahead in a favourable route with the Department of Health and fitness Care Services,” Bulloch claimed.

Upgraded Coachella clinic

Irrespective of the challenging news, Bulloch explained a new clinic will open up in the Metropolis of Coachella in July.

The clinic will be found at 49-869 Calhoun St. Workers members from Centro Medico Coachella will move to the new 40,000 square foot facility.

“Our Coachella clinic is a a great deal predicted local community task that has been in the operates for a number of many years,” Bulloch explained in an e mail. “Collectively with community companions this sort of as Inland Empire Well being Program and Lab Corp, we will be escalating entry to substantially-wanted, superior-top quality health care to the folks of Coachella.”