Hawaii Medical Center to cut 89 jobs

Eighty-nine employees at Hawaii Medical Center will lose their jobs at the end of June when the hospital outsources work in its administrative departments.

The head of HMC said the company took the steps to "help save the hospitals," which were financially troubled even before their sale by a Roman Catholic religious order to a for-profit company in 2007.

HMC officials said Tuesday that it will contract out its business office, call center, health information management and admissions departments to Perot Systems of Nashville, Tenn. effective June 28.

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In keeping with collective bargaining agreements, hospital officials said some union employees may be transferred to other jobs within Hawaii Medical Center. HMC has two hospitals, in Honolulu and Ewa.

"HMC has not taken this step lightly," said Salim Hasham, HMC's Director of Implementation, in a prepared statement. "The positions of dedicated HMC employees must be eliminated - not because they have performed poorly - but because it is necessary to help save the hospitals ... We have found that Perot Systems can provide these services better and more efficiently than we can ourselves."

The former St. Francis hospitals were sold to a group of 130 Hawaii doctors, who joined with Wichita, Kan.-based, for-profit developer Cardiovascular Hospitals of America, for $68 million in January 2007.

The facilities, which were renamed the Hawaii Medical Center East and Hawaii Medical Center West, are the state's only physician-owned, for-profit hospitals.