Scotland Health Care System announced on Thursday several changes to cut costs to during the current economic downturn.

Those changes include staff reductions, service consolidations and a reduction in employee benefits, according to Greg Wood, president and CEO of the healthcare system that operates Scotland Memorial Hospital.

Wood said the cuts will affect about 30 jobs. He was not specific about what jobs would go.

"We probably have about 30 positions that we have temporarily or permanently eliminated over the past several months," Wood said.

Wood said that, of those, close to 25 were already vacant and included some management positions.

"In addition to that, we have reassigned a handful of people to alternate positions, which they have accepted," Wood continued. "Unfortunately, just a couple of positions have been eliminated and we did not have an alternate position for them."

He added that staff members will have their compensation benefits adjusted slightly, "so that by all of us sharing the burden, we are able to greatly minimize the job loss."

He explained that the consolidations are meant to streamline services and reduce costs with a minimal impact to the healthcare system.

As part of the effort, the hospital urgent care center will be relocated into a space shared with the occupational health center.

He explained that both offer similar services and the healthcare system hopes it will increase the quality of service. It will also make urgent care much more visible to the main public, Wood said.

Wood said these changes "will keep us stable and solid to operate successfully in this difficult environment."

Wood also explained some of the economic circumstances behind the move.

“Due to the economic situation of our community, we expect to provide more than $25 million worth of free care this year, 11 percent more than last year and 26 percent more than two years ago,” Wood said. “While we are confident our country’s economic situation will eventually improve, we must make sure we remain viable now."

Wood added that many of the changes were already underway and none will have any direct impact on patient care.

"Our physicians and staff have been doing an excellent job all year responding to our economic challenges," he said.

Wood also discussed the new partnership with Carolinas HealthCare, which will become effective April 1.

“As you know, our Board of Trustees recently entered into a management agreement with Carolinas HealthCare System of Charlotte to strengthen our hospital system for the long run," Wood said. "However, the positive impact of this affiliation will not begin until late this year. I am confident these changes will keep us positioned well for the future. I am thankful for the support of the staff, physicians, Board and community as we work together through these challenging times."

Carolinas HealthCare System is the largest health care system in the Carolinas, and the third largest non-profit public system in the nation.

CHS owns, leases or manages 23 hospitals in North and South Carolina, including Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte and CMC-NorthEast in Concord, a 457-bed medical center, which is home to Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital.