L.A. County to Lay Off 300 Health Employees : Budget: Supervisors approve cuts to save $3.6 million. Workers say downsizing will tax an already stressed system.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss more than 300 health employees, a move that will save the cash-strapped county about $3.6 million this fiscal year but has sparked concern about the impact on health services.

In all, about 300 workers will get pink slips, while about 100 more contract and temporary positions are slated to be eliminated. The layoffs are scheduled to take effect on April 15.

Union officials, however, immediately criticized the move and said they will consider filing a lawsuit to stop the layoffs.

Robert C. Gates, director of the Department of Health Services, had proposed the layoffs as a way to partially bridge a $500-million budget shortfall in the department. Gates contends that the layoffs reflect reduced patient caseloads and will not affect services.

“There will be no change in services,” he said after Tuesday’s decision. “This is about less people coming into our system and that’s all it’s about.”

County health workers, however, dispute the idea that fewer patients are using health facilities. They maintain that the county’s health care system is severely overstretched and that the job losses will only exacerbate the problems.

“I can’t believe what they just did,” said Tamara Bradfield, a four-year employee at High Desert Hospital who is director of the physicians education program at the Lancaster facility. Bradfield said she is among those to be laid off.

“They talk about downsizing because the census is so low, but if they downsize any more the whole concept of service will be irrelevant. My workload is overwhelming. They really need to better evaluate what they are doing.”

The layoffs come as health officials are seeking to hire about 300 new workers in specialized fields to meet accreditation requirements. Department officials say those targeted for layoffs do not have the job skills to jump into the new positions.

But Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, noting the long waiting times for some outpatient services, questioned the wisdom of laying off productive workers.

“I’m concerned about laying off someone if we can put that person somewhere else and save money,” Burke said, although she ended up voting for the layoffs.

The current deficit stems from a decision by federal health authorities to deny a claim by the county for more than $600 million in Medi-Cal reimbursements. The county had included the disputed funds in its 1994-95 fiscal year budget.

Officials estimate that the 1995-96 health budget will be more than $600 million in the red and that the county overall could begin the fiscal year with a $1-billion budget shortfall.

The supervisors were sympathetic to the workers’ concerns but, citing the likelihood of substantial budget deficits next year, went ahead with the plan.

However, the board did agree to prohibit health officials from replacing displaced county employees with lower-paid contract workers, who do not receive county benefits.