Layoffs announced this month at Fairview Health Services are hitting hard among chaplains at the health system, including a deep cut at the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Workers interviewed by the Star Tribune said 10 of 13 staff chaplains at the U hospital are losing their jobs.
Another three staff chaplains are being laid off at other Fairview facilities in the Twin Cities region, said Carolyn Browender, a chaplain who is losing her job after three years with Fairview hospitals.
The layoffs amount to a roughly 50% reduction in the number of staff chaplains across the health system's metro locations, workers say.
At the U hospital, the layoffs include two Muslim chaplains who play a crucial role in the hospital's service to Somali-American patients who live in the nearby Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, Browender said.
"We're grieving and very disappointed ourselves, but also just extremely shocked and very concerned about what this means for patient care," said Browender, who works at University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Fairview said reducing onsite chaplain services was a "difficult decision."
Spiritual counseling for patients is also provided by "casual" chaplains who work on an as-needed basis, the health system said. After factoring these chaplains, there are still "dozens" working with patients, Fairview said, including chaplains representing a variety of religious and cultural backgrounds, including the Muslim faith.