A message from Jennifer Burrows, chief executive, Providence Oregon

Aug. 7, 2025

A message from Jennifer Burrows, chief executive, Providence Oregon regarding financial sustainability measures for Oregon.

This week, Providence in Oregon is notifying 128 caregivers across our Oregon ministries that their positions are being eliminated. The positions include clinical and nonclinical roles, union and non-union jobs, and include caregivers in our acute care facilities, as well as researchers and those whose efforts away from the bedside help make our direct patient care possible. 

While we will make every effort to place these caregivers in other roles, we know that some will leave the organization. As we said when announcing our previous wave of reductions in June, these difficult decisions affect our employees and the communities we serve. They reflect the fact that every health system is undergoing a fundamental restructuring due to widespread workforce and funding issues. The cuts to vital safety-net programs included in the recently passed H.R.1, as well as the regulatory environment here in Oregon, will only serve to deepen the crisis Providence and other health care organizations are facing. 

In part, this means we will not be able to offer all services in all locations. Some of the changes you will start seeing in the months ahead will be related to consolidating patient services where we have high volume and high expertise.

This difficult work will continue until we return to being back in balance with the revenues we collect and the expenses we incur. Again, these changes reflect the fact every health system is undergoing a fundamental restructuring due to widespread workforce and funding issues. 

Once again, these reductions are not single events in time. We expect to have additional announcements later in the year as we make progress toward getting ourselves back to a place of being at break-even in terms of revenue and expenses. 

Watch: Providence Oregon | Jennifer Burrows | Challenges and Responses

Facts:

• In June 2025, 134 employees in Oregon, some of whom are union members, were notified that their positions were eliminated.
• Since the beginning of the year, Providence Oregon has identified dozens of open positions that will not be filled.
• Providence in Oregon continues to cut spending, including eliminating or greatly reducing items such as travel, community sponsorships and internal celebrations for employees.
• Providence’s financial recovery in Oregon is more difficult because of systemic issues outside of Providence’s control:
  • • Over the last decade, Oregon lawmakers have limited our options to achieve financial sustainability.  
    • State law now:  
      - Dictates our clinical staffing model. We have some of the highest staffing levels and labor costs in the nation. 
      - Limits our cost growth. 
      - Creates barriers around innovative partnerships. 
      - Requires extensive free and reduced-cost care.
• Compounding the impact of these policies is: 
  • • An underfunded Medicaid program.  
    • Diminishing contributions from insurance companies.
    • Uncertainty at the federal level. Federal changes to Medicaid and health care funding will affect Oregon more than any other state in the country.
• With limited options, we have warned that patient access to current service levels are likely to be affected.