Missouri-based Mercy Health said Thursday it has laid off 24 Arkansas workers as part of a systemwide move that leaves a total of 347 without jobs.
Mercy has eight acute care and specialty hospitals in Arkansas, along with 67 outpatient clinic locations. Workers who were laid off will receive a severance package with compensation and benefits based on their position and length of service, according to Mercy Health.
"Changes such as these are difficult and distressing for everyone involved," Lynn Britton, Mercy president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The hospital system said the move comes as the company adapts to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, budget cuts and the lack of Medicaid expansion in most of the states where it operates.
The hospital system said 178 of the jobs lost were in management positions.
Mercy Health has more than 40,000 workers and 46 hospitals in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
LR church to build $8M center for youth
Saint Mark Baptist Church on West 12th St. in Little Rock is spending $8 million to build a 50,000-square-foot Children and Youth Center. The center, to open next summer, will be bigger than the church's worship center and Family Life Center combined, said Jason Ray, facilities director for the church.
Ray said Saint Mark's broke ground on the project in May. In addition to serving the 8,700-member congregation, the center will be a hub for children and youth-service needs in the community.
"This facility and the programs that will be available to children show our commitment to addressing the social issues many African-American youth face today," said Phillip Pointer, Saint Mark senior pastor, during a groundbreaking in May.
Arkansas Index loses 1.22, ends at 374.59
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1.22 to 374.59 on Thursday.
"U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday amid continued focus on Greece negotiations, which appear set to stretch into the weekend," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Shares of Windstream fell 5 percent in below-average volume and hit a 52-week low.
Home BancShares hit a 52-week high for the third straight day, and Tyson Foods reached a yearly high for the second day in a row.
Total volume of the index was 22.7 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 06/26/2015