As was announced earlier this week, to help minimize the significant financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UW Medicine is implementing temporary staff furloughs at our clinical entities. We write now to remind you that one way to mitigate the impact of these mandatory furloughs is through voluntary furloughs.
Voluntary furloughs for staff in our hospitals, clinics and clinical shared services are available in one-week increments, Monday to Sunday, starting no sooner than June 1. In most departments, employees may volunteer from one week up to a total of eight weeks. If you are interested in volunteering to furlough, please email your request to your department manager by the end of the day on Friday, May 29, and specify the dates that you would be available to be furloughed. However, we encourage all to submit voluntarily furlough requests as soon as possible. If you do not have access to email, then your request must be in writing to your manager. Approval of offers to voluntarily furlough is subject to manager approval based on your department’s operational needs. While we appreciate your willingness to volunteer, there will be some areas in which managers will not be able to approve the offer to volunteer due to patient care or other considerations.
Volunteering to furlough is a meaningful way to support your colleagues during this difficult time. We hope that you will consider it.
Thank you.
Lisa Brandenburg
President, UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics
Timothy H. Dellit, MD
Chief Medical Officer, UW Medicine
President, UW Physicians
