MAINZ / WALDBREITBACH – The Marienhaus group of companies, which includes 20 clinics and 22 senior care facilities, mainly in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, announced on Thursday afternoon that they would report short-time work due to the financial losses caused by the corona crisis. In a fire letter to Federal Health Minister Spahn (CDU), the group, which is based in Waldbreitbach in the Westerwald, complained that the support was far from sufficient. Without short-time work, according to the group of companies, one would “get around part-closings and tendencies”.
Company demands a higher flat rate for beds kept free
The Marienhaus facilities, which also include the Katholisches Klinikum Mainz (KKM) and the Heilig-Geist-Hospital Bingen, employ more than 13,000 people. In order to protect the facilities and the jobs, the company is calling for the hospital bailout to be improved. Instead of the flat rate of 560 euros that is paid per day for a free bed, an increase to 700 euros is necessary. Here one also hopes for the support of the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland Health Ministers Sabine Batzing-Lichtenthaler (SPDS) and Monika Bachmann.
After the government had instructed to cancel all surgeries that were not absolutely necessary and to prepare for a large number of Covid-19 patients, “occupancy in our hospitals had dropped and is currently less than 40 per cent,” the letter said. At the same time, five hospitals were converted into corona clinics.
Start of short-time work still unclear
If nothing changes and the crisis persists for several months, the Marienhaus Group expects a revenue and liquidity gap of more than 30 million euros for 2020. For this reason, one sees himself “unfortunately forced to register short-time work in sub-areas that are not immediately needed to care for current and possibly future Covid 19 patients,” says a letter to the employees. The short-time work does not affect doctors, nursing or functional staff, the company said on the request of our newspaper.
It is not yet possible to say when the short-time work will begin, said the spokesman for the group, Heribert Freiling. “First of all, we will still try to see overtime and remaining vacation, if necessary also that employees take minus hours.” Then, for each house and each area, it will be checked individually where and to what percentage short-time work is the appropriate means. “But there is no fixed schedule.”
In the short term, the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Health was unable to obtain an opinion.
