You wouldn't think that during a pandemic hospitals would be laying off workers but that is exactly what is happening.

According to WOOD, so far West Michigan hospitals are not overflowing with cases of COVID-19, some are very low on the number of patients and some are laying off employees.

Most believe its because of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive order that stopped minor procedures at hospitals which generate a lot of revenue. The purpose of the order was to make room for possible COVID-19 patients and minimize contact between patients and staff.

Yes there has been an increase in cases in the region but not enough to overwhelm area hospitals. Without the elective surgeries on top of the increased spending on safety equipment, hospitals are hurting financially so cuts have been made to keep them in business.

Another issue the hospitals are running into is people are afraid to go to hospitals in fear of catching the coronavirus so emergency room visits are way down. Typical outpatient procedures and in office visits have been replaced by televisits.

Detroit hospitals have been hit the hardest with two major hospitals laying off over 5,000 workers combined.

All of the West Michigan hospitals and clinics have already laid off some of their workers with the possibility of more to come.

Every hospital is struggling but ironically its not because of the coronavirus but because of the type services they are not allowed to offer at this time that is causing the problems.

Most health officials believe the hospitals will continue to struggle until a vaccine is created to handle COVID-19.

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