Integris Shuts Down Most Of Its Portland Avenue Campus, Furloughs Some Employees

Integris Medical Center’s Portland Avenue campus is temporarily closing its doors.

Officials said this is due to the postponement of non-emergency surgeries and procedures.

Hospital leadership met by conference call Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, they said this campus closure is effective immediately and should be complete by the end of Friday.

‘In an effort to better consolidate our resources we are temporarily closing the Portland Avenue building, with the exception of the emergency room. We fully anticipate that if and when we see a surge of COVID-19 patients in Oklahoma City, we will be reopening this campus,’ the statement continued.

They also mentioned there would be limited outpatient services. Integris officials confirmed to News 9 that caregivers not working for the COVID-19 pandemic would be temporarily furloughed. 

Integris released the following statement Wednesday night: 

When we decided to postpone all elective, non-urgent surgeries and procedures last month to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) for our frontline caregivers, we knew we would take a financial hit. Still, it was and is the right thing to do in these unprecedented circumstances. The drastic but necessary move has reduced our revenues by approximately 50-percent. While we remain optimistic for a quick rebound once the pandemic passes, we need to make decisions today to ensure our financial health in the coming months.

That’s why we will be making the following temporary adjustments:

1. Executive base pay will be reduced by 20% (Vice Presidents and above)
2. The INTEGRIS 401k/403b match will be discontinued for all caregivers and employed providers
3. Caregivers not performing work for the COVID-19 pandemic or other related critical work will be furloughed, though they will be allowed to receive additional paid personal leave hours.

We will also continue providing caregivers and their dependents medical insurance coverage.

Those who have been identified for furlough will be notified no later than next week.

Decisions like these are not easy, and the uncertainty surrounding this virus and this situation certainly adds to the anxiety. But this is NOT a reduction in force, this is a temporary reduction in work hours. When the COVID-19 surge does hit Oklahoma in the coming weeks, we will reverse this action and we will need all of our caregivers to return to work. This is yet another sacrifice this novel coronavirus is forcing upon us, but we are confident we will get through this and come out stronger on the other side so that we can continue to meet the health care needs of the communities we serve for many years to come.

Their ambulatory infusion services and radiology services will also be open.

Some health care facilities across the country have reported revenue losses due to the cancellation of elective procedures. Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa announced a reduction of 600 staff members earlier this week. 

Stay with News 9 an News9.com for the latest updates as this story progresses.