Swedish Medical Center has announced significant layoffs and it is unclear how the Ballard campus will be affected by the downsizing, said Ed Boyle, a spokesperson for the hospital chain.

"At this point, the Ballard campus is not being effected to the extent of the larger downtown campuses," said Boyle. Boyle was not able to confirm as of yet whether there would be any job losses in Ballard.

Earlier this week Boyle said, "The restructuring changes announced yesterday are in non-patient-care areas and the changes did not directly impact the Swedish/Ballard Campus."

Swedish announced this week significant financial losses during the fourth quarter, due in large part to the national economic downturn that has hit the health-care industry particularly hard. Therefore Swedish has taken difficult steps this week toward the financial health of our organization, according to the release.

Swedish has eliminated four vice-president and 22 director positions from the organization. Most leaders currently in those roles will be leaving by the end of the week. The vice-president positions eliminated include:

Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, First Hill; Chief Nursing Officer; Vice President, Corporate Communications; Vice President, Facilities, Real Estate and Support Services.

"Eliminating these positions and saying goodbye to the colleagues who did them is hard for us all," says Rod Hochman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer at Swedish. "We are grateful to each and every one of these individuals who served Swedish so well over the years."

"With a new leaner leadership organization in place, we have more resolve than ever to manage our resources responsibly and secure long term stability for Swedish," the memo reads. "During the next week Swedish will be looking hard at all non-clinical functions to see how staff can provide even better care with less."

In addition, around 175 more jobs will be eliminated, though only in non-clinical functions, not in direct patient care. Swedish is scheduled to announce the result of this work next week.

"These actions will support the positive effects of other important moves we have already made. Swedish continues the transition from service line to campus management to reduce redundancy. The organization is staffing more thoughtfully, reducing overtime, agency staff and travelers. And, Swedish won't increase pay this year for any of the management team and non-clinical administrative staff."