BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge General announced it was eliminating 50 to 60 positions in the wake of the closure of the ER at the Mid City location earlier this year.

The positions are in administrative support and are not necessarily "bedside" - ones that come into contact with patients directly each day or provide medical care in hospital rooms. A hospital spokesperson added, people who currently hold the positions being eliminated may be moved within the company lessening the actual number of layoffs.

The positions impacted will be cut in the next 30 to 90 days.

"Though we are fully confident this is the right move for our organization, we deeply regret the personal impact of these changes and are committed to doing everything in our power to help employees transition smoothly," the hospital's president and CEO, Mark Slyter, said in a statement. "In positioning our health system for the next 100 years of caring for Baton Rouge, we must continue to make smart, strategic decisions that both respond to and anticipate changes in our operating environment. In short, we must continue to shape our future," he said.

Employees whose positions are being eliminated have been given 60 to 90 days' advance notice and severance pay, the hospital said. For people who can't be moved to an open, internal position with Baton Rouge General, career counseling, benefits assistance, social services, financial counseling, wellness services, spiritual and emotional support services will be provided.

"It is our goal that no one affected miss a paycheck," Slyter said.

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