CAMARILLO : State Hospital to Lay Off 40 Employees

Forty employees of Camarillo State Hospital will lose their jobs Jan. 1 in a cost-cutting move that officials hope will save $3 million over the next six months.

The 40 employees of the hospital--ranging from psychiatrists to plumbers--received their layoff notices late last week, according to Lanette Castleman, a spokeswoman for the institution.

“Because we are receiving fewer patients, we no longer needed the same size staff,” Castleman said. “Still, any cuts like this are difficult. We’re losing some very talented people.”

Castleman said more than 100 employees at the hospital would be affected by the planned cuts. Aside from the 40 that were laid off, 23 workers agreed to take lower-paying positions, about 14 people on limited term job assignments were not renewed and about 40 staffers voluntarily resigned.

Earlier this year, officials at the hospital anticipated having to make deeper cuts based on projections that patient loads at the institution would be slashed deeply. But those reductions did not materialize, and officials believe that at worst, the patient load may drop to an anticipated 380 patients next year.

The state hospital now houses about 400 patients. An additional 560 are housed within the institution’s adjoining developmental center. The center’s patient population is expected to remain constant, Castleman said.