Southcoast Health (MA) cutting dozens of jobs on heels of expensive IT upgrade

Stung by losses linked to costly technology upgrades, Southcoast Health is laying off 95 employees just a year after finalizing a similar staffing cut. The cuts represent 1 percent of Southcoast’s 7,251 workforce, and will happen across the care provider's three hospitals in Fall River, Wareham and New Bedford. All levels of hospital staff will be affected, officials said. Employees were notified of the cut Wednesday morning. The cuts come as the hospital negotiates a merger with Care New England, a four-hospital system in Rhode Island.The care provider said the cuts stemmed from training costs associated with the installation of a $100 million records system, known as Epic.