Group Health Cooperative plans to move dozens of its appointment-desk receptionists out of individual clinics around Western Washington and into a centralized call center in Tukwila.

The move, along with a reduction in the number of receptionist positions, is expected to save Group Health about $3.5 million annually, according to Michael Erikson, primary care administrator for the Seattle-based health care system.

Eighty of Group Health’s receptionists will be moved from their Puget Sound-area clinics to the call center gradually over the next 11 months. About 270 will remain in individual clinics. Overall, the number of receptionist positions will be reduced from 390 to 351, Erikson said, but because many of the positions are currently open or filled by temporary workers, no full-time employees will lose their jobs because of the move – provided they’re willing to commute.

Consolidation not only will be more efficient, Erikson said, but also will be better for patients.

“Pooling these patient care representatives means patients will get a much more timely response to their calls,” Erikson said. “They will get a team that’s reliably trained, and they’ll have better access to providers.”

Some Group Health employees aren’t so positive, fearing the change will mean a loss of continuity for patients and require an arduous commute for many receptionists.

“It is amazing to me that an organization such as Group Health cares so little for their consumers and patients, as well as their own staff, to remove this front-line personalization of the medical experience,” said Claire Thompson, an appointment receptionist in Group Health’s Tacoma Medical Center.

Requiring longer commutes for employees is environmentally irresponsible and runs counter to the traditional values of the cooperative, Thompson said.

“They’re taking the receptionists out of clinics as far away as Olympia,” Thompson said. “Olympia is losing 28 positions. That’s a lot of people to be asked to drive to Tukwila.”

Group Health reached an agreement on the consolidation with the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which represents the receptionists, on July 17.

The health cooperative has 21 clinics in the Puget Sound area, with six in the South Sound.

Rob Carson: 253-597-8693

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