Wage freezes, end of 401(k) contributions means fewer layoffs at Beth Israel

Paul Levy at Beth Israel Deaconess posts the e-mail he sent to hospital staff last night on the hospital's budget: The hospital will likely lay off 150 people, but that's compared to the 600 originally planned - and the 900 lowest-paid workers will not be laid off.

Other money saving steps: Executives will lose the 3% raises they got on Jan. 1, employees will temporarily stop accruing "earned" vacation time, the hospital will not fill most positions as they become vacant through attrition, an annual staff barbecue is cancelled and the hospital will no longer subsidize most employees with BlackBerries or pay for meals at staff meetings. Also, top hospital management, including Levy, are taking pay cuts.

Levy also explains why the hospital won't be canceling its contract with the Red Sox - partly because it has a contract and partly because the deal is an excellent marketing tool.

One interesting reason the hospital will bring in less money than originally budgeted: A new state law forbidding hospitals to send away emergency patients means Beth Israel is now seeing fewer ER patients, because BI was where many of these "diverted" patients ended up.