Samaritan Health Services this month reduced its workforce by about 80 positions. Samaritan, a nonprofit regional health system, operates hospitals in Newport, Lincoln City, Corvallis, Albany and Lebanon along with several regional clinics. The system has more than 6,000 employees. A Samaritan spokeswoman in Lincoln County said the organization would "not share community-specific layoff numbers" for layoffs in Lincoln, Benton or Linn counties. Samaritan said it was able to manage a small, yet positive, margin through the pandemic and the following few years. But in 2024, a variety of pressures, including rising inflation, cyber incidents, inclement weather, a decline in volume in some clinical areas and unfavorable payer reimbursements, impacted its ability to maintain a favorable margin. In July, officials said that operational expenses exceeded operational revenues by nearly $23 million.
