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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMore than 90 remote workers of Ascension Technologies in Indiana have been laid off after the St. Louis-based parent outsourced the jobs to overseas companies.
Ascension Technologies is part of Ascension St. Vincent, a hospital system with operations around the state.
The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Wednesday that the 92 workers are eligible to apply for benefits and services through the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
Most of the laid-off workers are based in Indianapolis and Evansville, the state agency said.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported April 30 that Ascension Technologies, the IT subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ascension, planned to lay off an estimated 651 remote workers this year systemwide. Ascension operates 145 hospitals in 19 states.
Ascension Technologies said it would begin working with a third party to take on the tech support for electronic medical records and revenue-cycle-management responsibilities its employees had been performing, according to a notice filed with state officials in Missouri.
Danielle Eagleson, a spokeswoman with Ascension St. Vincent in Indianapolis, confirmed the layoffs here.
In an internal corporate blog earlier this year, Ascension executives said the move was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has underscored the importance of our ongoing effort to reimagine and transform our approach to technology as we create greater access to our health system for all consumers,” Gerry Lewis, senior vice president and chief information officer for Ascension, wrote in the April blog posting.
“More than ever before, patients expect a seamless, safe and effective consumer experience, enabled by cutting-edge technology, and caregivers need to be relieved of many of the burdens of overly complex and disconnected technology systems,” he wrote. “We are striving to meet these changing needs and expectations head on.”
Trade Adjustment Assistance can include money for training and job-search expenses. Qualified workers age 50 and older can also receive supplemental pay if they find a new job that pays less than the one they lost.
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Translation: We will ensure better quality and better service by pushing our support staff to a time zone 10-12 hours ahead of ours. Non sequitur.
Shame on you Ascension Health. Maybe you should start driving your revenue and patients from these overseas workers also.
Excellent point.
I am not seeing improvement in service as the motive, but rather a drive for higher profits. Short term profits to be sure.
And how about our private health information? How secure will it be when IT is overseas? I am less inclined to keep my Ascension providers, let alone accept referrals within their network of providers. More than disappointing!!!
Which country overseas? Asking for a friend…
I’ll give you a hint it starts with an i and ends with an a and it’s located in Southeast Asia.