gronberg@heraldsun.com; 419-6648
DURHAM -- City officials were able to close an in-house nursing unit on March 1 without having to put anyone on the unemployment line, as the unit's last two employees were able to find private-sector jobs.
One went to work for Duke Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the arm of the Duke University Health System that is now handling pre-hiring check-ups and other medical chores for the city staff.
Deputy City Manager Wanda Page said administrators were "very happy" to learn both of the now-former employees had been able to find other positions.
The fate of the workers was the issue that over the winter held up City Council approval for the move to outsource the unit's work to Duke.
The move is likely to save the city an estimated $183,461 a year and is one of the cost-cutting measures City Manager Tom Bonfield and his senior staff have pursued in response to recession-induced budget shortfalls.
Administrators first floated the idea of closing the former Employee Health Services unit in the fall. But after workers complained, the council signaled reluctance. Bonfield responded by taking the proposal off the table for more study.
But it resurfaced in early February, and council members signaled that with the holidays behind everyone and another big shortfall looming, they were willing then to go along.
Bonfield, Page and other officials assured council members that they'd try to help the displaced workers find new jobs.
As the deadline neared, they kept on sending the workers leads on city jobs that were opening up, Page said.
But the workers also did their own legwork, and it appears that that's what made the difference.
Page said the shutdown of the former unit went smoothly. The lease on the north Durham office space it was using runs out on April 1, and workers are now removing the materials and supplies that remain in it.
