一连串的紧急护理诊所UnitedHeal旗下th Group's Optum is laying off all nursing positions nationwide.
Morgantown, W.Va.-based MedExpress Urgent Care will eliminate registered nursing positions at nearly 150 facilities as part of a larger group of layoffs at Optum,nurse.orgreported Aug. 21.
A MedExpress spokesperson did not confirm or deny the accuracy of the report when reached byBecker's,though they did provide the following statement: "MedExpress continually assesses and evolves our staffing models to better reflect urgent care industry standards. As always, we will support team members affected with job placement resources and seek to deploy them where possible to any open roles within the company."
The nurse.org report was confirmed byWSAZin West Virginia. Anonline petitionposted by MedExpress nurses is calling on UnitedHealth to reverse its decision. As of Aug. 22, the petition had gathered more than 3,500 signatures.
"Not only is there no plan in place for the enormous amount of retraining it would require to make our centers run without nurses, but removing our lifeline from our clinics is a death sentence," the petition said. "Without significant, mandatory, hands-on, companywide training to make this new model work, it is completely negligent."
UnitedHealth Group has provided limited information about layoffs at Optum and its subsidiaries, but former employees with the companytook to social mediain August about large swaths of layoffs they say are occurring.
A regional senior security manager for Optum's Pacific West regionwroteon LinkedIn that he was "part of the worldwide reductions in force by UnitedHealth Group and Optum."
"We continually review the capabilities and services we offer to meet the growing and evolving needs of our businesses and the people we serve," UnitedHealth Group toldBecker'spreviously. "As always, we will support affected team members with job placement resources and seek to deploy them where possible to any open roles within the company."
Becker'shas reached out to UnitedHealth Group for additional comment about MedExpress and will update this article if more information becomes available.