Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge is taking steps to restructure parts of its personnel, which is affecting roughly 50 positions in the company.
Some of the impacted personnel have reached out to Unfiltered with Kiran asking for details on what is leading to abrupt changes to their jobs, saying they haven’t been told from the hospital itself.
The hospital released a statement addressing the restructuring earlier in July 2022.
“As responsible stewards to meet the evolving needs of our patients and community, Our Lady of the Lake is restructuring several areas to better support our clinicians and organizational priorities. We have identified the areas of greatest need and aligned our teams there. We’ve sought to provide these team members with similar roles that best use their gifts and talents, especially in caring for our patients. Periodic change is an expected dynamic in every business. We’ll continue to remain transparent with our team members and thoughtfully make decisions for the long-term strength of our healthcare mission and service to our communities.”
According to a hospital spokesperson, recent changes in hospital leadership played a role in the restructuring.
In February 2022, Scott Wester stepped down as the CEO after 14 years. Wester moved into a new executive position with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS).
The hospital’s human resources department has reached out to each individual to discuss the next steps. The spokesperson said Human Resources is working with the individuals to find another suitable position within the company.
As the transition continues, the employees affected will work their current jobs until they are moved to a new position. There is a standard FMOLHS severance policy for those who move on.
Those individuals don’t have to apply for the new positions.
However, some who reached out to Unfiltered with Kiran said they’re being forced to take demoted positions after years of being on the job. Others said they had no other choice but to take the severance.
“It may be a restructuring for them but it’s costing us our livelihoods and disrupting our years old careers and that’s how they show us their appreciation?” said one employee who asked to remain anonymous.
Our Lady of the Lake has 7,500 employees in the Baton Rouge area.
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