Gastroenterologist

St. Charles lays off 22 employees. Published 11:26 am Tuesday, June 23, 2026 St. Charles Health System laid off 22 people in leadership roles throughout the nonprofit on Tuesday. According to St. Charles, the layoffs were a result of the health care provider "reassessing" leadership roles and responsibilities. In addition, 23 vacant positions throughout the organization will be left unfilled. According to St. Charles CEO Michael Hartke, the positions were eliminated at the same time the health system has experienced "rapid growth in the service and amount of care provided throughout Central Oregon in recent years." The layoffs came after an evaluation of top leadership titles in the organization. "Changes are being made to fairly balance responsibilities for those in leadership positions across the health system and to structure the system for continued growth," Hartke said. The decision to eliminate the roles was not an easy one, said Hartke. "I want to sincerely thank those impacted by these changes for their time and dedication to St. Charles, our patients and to each other," he said. No one laid off Tuesday was providing direct patient care, according to a release from Alandra Johnson, St. Charles spokesperson. St. Charles did not answer any follow up questions about the layoffs. St. Charles is the largest employer in Central Oregon with over 4,900 employees across hospitals in Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville. This is not the first time the hospital has issued layoffs. In 2022 the health system laid off 107 people, including two executives, and eliminated 76 vacant positions due to skyrocketing supply and equipment costs.

St. Charles restructures to support ongoing growth. June 23, 2026 St. Charles Health System has experienced rapid growth in the services and amount of care provided throughout Central Oregon in recent years. The growth is aligned with increases in population and demand for care in the region and has mostly occurred in the outpatient and specialty services areas of the organization. "We have been in a position to step in and support maintaining some key services in the region in recent years including orthopedics and neurosurgery, pharmacy, urology, gastroenterology and specialized cancer care, just to name a few," said Michael Hartke, incoming president and CEO. "As a nonprofit, local health care organization, we have the responsibility and the privilege of ensuring our patients have access to the care they need and we are proud to be able to provide it." To maintain this growth and ensure the organization is set up for success over the long term, St. Charles recently completed an evaluation of leader spans of control, titles and market alignment - for all supervisors and above - throughout the health system. Changes are being made to fairly balance responsibilities for those in leadership positions across the health system and to structure the system for continued growth. As a result, a small number of leadership positions in support services areas of the organization will be eliminated. This includes 22 positions that are currently filled and 23 positions that are vacant. In addition, ongoing work will occur to bring titles into alignment over time. No direct patient care positions are impacted by these changes, which affect less than 1% of the St. Charles workforce. "I want to sincerely thank the people being impacted by today's hard news for their incredible contributions to St. Charles and wish them nothing but the best going forward," Hartke said. "The changes we are making today are about setting ourselves up for a more sustainable and scalable structure for the future and I want to reassure our community that St. Charles is strong, stable and committed to meeting community needs."

St. Charles begins outsourcing medical coding program. BEND, ORE. - St. Charles Health System has begun outsourcing its medical coding program to Guidehouse, a Virginia based company. The health system said Guidehouse has offered all affected employees similar positions at its company. St. Charles said it made the decision to outsource after years of struggling to retain enough qualified medical coders. A spokesperson for the health system said in part, "We are so grateful to our dedicated team of coders for their many years of contributions to St. Charles and the Central Oregon community and wish all of them the best in their new roles with Guidehouse. While this has been a difficult decision, we believe it is in the best interest of the health system as it continues to focus on keeping as much care local as possible."