GLENDALE : 13 Hospital Workers Lose Their Jobs

Thirteen engineering and operations workers at Glendale Adventist Medical Center will lose their jobs effective today as part of a $300,000 to $500,000 cut in spending, officials said Friday.

Those leaving the hospital are among 48 who received layoff notices earlier this week.

A total of 33 workers were hired Friday by an Arroyo Grande-based company contracted by the hospital to oversee the engineering and operations departments, said Beth Powis, communications manager. In addition, a secretary was transferred to the medical center’s dietary department, while a clerk was able to find a position in purchasing.

Officials at the contract company, NMI, did not return a phone call Friday. There was no word on whether wages will remain the same for the 33 workers.

“These 48 employees are loyal and valuable employees and we’re very pleased that 70% have been hired by NMI and will now continue to work at Glendale Adventist,” said hospital vice president David R. Igler. “Obviously, this whole process is a very difficult task, made necessary by the demands of a rapidly changing health care marketplace.”

Those laid off will have a severance package that includes a minimum of two weeks’ pay and two months’ medical coverage.

Over the past two years, hospital officials said, the length of the average patient’s stay for treatment has been sharply dropping--although Glendale Adventist Medical Center treats an average of 15,000 patients yearly. The hospital has been trying to find various cost-cutting measures to balance its $115-million budget for 1993-94.