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Kaleida Health offering temporary voluntary furloughs to employees

The health-care system said in the last 60 days it has suffered from the cutbacks on elective surgeries and has spent $15 million on personal protective equipment.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kaleida Health announced that it's offering employees the option of taking a temporary furlough, as the health-care system deals with financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health-care system announced the move on Wednesday in conjunction with 1199SEIU and CWA1168, which represent more than 8,000 Kaleida Health employees. Kaleida's employees will have the option of taking temporary unpaid leave.

The furloughs are targeted at areas in the organization that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as elective surgeries and clinic workers. All employees who do take the furlough will not be terminated, according to the health-care system.

“Our members have tirelessly responded to the extraordinary demands of the pandemic in order to ensure the best possible treatment for every patient who has entered a Kaleida Health facility since this crisis began unfolding,” said Cori Gambini, president of CWA Local 1168.

“However, as health-care workers, we understand how the overall health of the people under our care is inseparably tied to the overall health of the organization. This voluntary unpaid leave that we’ve negotiated is the temporary and necessary step in a strategic process that considers the employer, the employees, and the community who depends on our members every day.”

The health-care system said over the last 60 days it's suffered from the cutbacks on elective surgeries and has spent $15 million on PPE preparing for a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

The furlough period is for 30 days, beginning Sunday. 

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