March 31, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant economic impact on many organizations including WMC. As the pandemic unfolds in our community, we continue to have to take measures to ensure the stabilization of our health system through these unprecedented times. We have been exhaustively examining all options and the actions we're having to take are extremely challenging and not taken lightly.

Unfortunately, our organization must make some very difficult personnel decisions to conserve our financial resources in order to sustain care to our communities. As of April 1, over 200 WMC employees will be placed on temporary furlough leave. Our intention is that furloughed employees will be called back as soon as circumstances allow.

Our operations were quickly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization's pandemic declaration on March 11, the President's declaration of a national emergency on March 13, the CDC's recommendation to postpone all non-urgent procedures on March 20, and other related governmental announcements and actions.

Like all health systems, the cancellation of elective procedures and system-wide protection guidelines have drastically reduced our number of patient visits, treatments and procedures, leading to a significant decrease in hospital revenue. We expect this to continue to be the case for the coming weeks.

Your health is always our priority. Our mission and role in a healthcare crisis is to care for those with the most critical needs. It is of the utmost importance to ensure resources are conserved to sustain care to our communities until this crisis subsides.

"This was a very difficult decision to make. I appreciate the tremendous sacrifices our staff is making in this time of uncertainty," said Donald Webb, Williamson Medical Center CEO. "Given these extraordinary circumstances, we are taking the necessary actions to ensure long term viability of the health system for our staff and the communities we serve."

To stay informed about COVID-19 visit www.CDC.gov or call the Tennessee Department of Health patient hotline at 877-857-2945 with questions.