New London ― Four employees at Lawrence + Memorial and Westerly hospitals were among 72 Yale New Haven Health employees laid off Wednesday, a health system official said Thursday.

Vincent Petrini, a Yale New Haven Health senior vice president, could not say which hospital the four laid-off employees worked at or otherwise identify them. All 72 of those laid off systemwide held management positions, he said.

None of the layoffs involved “patient-facing” staff or affected “bedside care,” Petrini said.

Yale New Haven Health, which also owns Bridgeport, Greenwich and Yale New Haven hospitals, also eliminated 83 administrative positions that were vacant. Most of the jobs cut were in New Haven.

Petrini said “multiple reasons” led to the cuts, including financial pressures. He said Yale New Haven Health will finish the current fiscal year Sept. 30 with a $300 million loss.

“Even after (the job cuts), we’re going to start the next fiscal year with a $250 million budgeted deficit,” he said.

The end of COVID-19 pandemic-relief funding, the effects of inflation, supply-chain issues, premium labor costs associated with increased reliance on travel nurses and “reimbursement that doesn’t keep pace” contributed to the red ink, Petrini said.

Yale New Haven Health has about 30,000 employees.

― Brian Hallenbeck