The latest reorganization effort is part of a plan approved by the Board of Directors in February and will result in the abolition of nine positions as of June 30, according to Amy DeMaria, a edical Center spokeswoman. Eighteen other positions will change structurally or shift to other departments within the Medical Center, DeMaria said.

The changes will affect staff positions within the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, a new research body created under the February plan.

In a broadcast e-mail to the Medical Center community last week, Stuart Bondurant, interim executive vice president for health sciences, said that the latest restructuring comes as part of an effort to consolidate the financial management of the academic departments of BGRO in order to ensure maximum efficiency and fiscal accountability.

“Our plan to create a more efficient and better integrated research and graduate education enterprise requires such steps,” Bondurant said.

Most employees affected under the plan will be able to move into new, comparable positions within BGRO or other departments of the edical Center, DeMaria said. The nine employees whose positions are being eliminated will receive priority consideration should other jobs become available at the Medical Center. According to DeMaria, they will also receive severance and benefits packages, as well as career development assistance, upon their departure.

“Most of the positions being eliminated are duplications in staff positions,” Anita Sidhu-Hough, an associate professor in the department of pediatric clinical services, said. “Consolidating and streamlining the current numerous administrative positions into a smaller number of jobs will allow for greater efficiency.”

Sidhu-Hough added that some of the positions being eliminated were those of non-tenured faculty who have not recently received any grants or funding and do not frequently teach.

BGRO will be restructured to become more streamlined, with a director who will be appointed in the coming months. Department chairs, deans and associate directors will report financially to this new director within a centralized financial structure.

Under the new structure, the Medical Center executive vice president will have fewer reporting responsibilities, allowing him more time for fundraising and financial and strategic planning.

The recent restructuring of BGRO will also consolidate numerous departments, allowing for greater collaborative and interdisciplinary research, DeMaria said – something which falls in line with the current research areas most likely to attract grants from the National Institute of Health.

“The changes are also part of a larger effort that positions Georgetown to better take advantage of the changing priorities and emerging opportunities in the world of biomedical research,” DeMaria said.

She added that many other medical centers across the country are taking measures to foster this type of research.

Last week’s announcement comes as part of the Medical Center’s long term financial recovery and restructuring plan, approved by the Board of Directors in 2001, which seeks to remedy its beleaguered financial situation.

The Medical Center, which has faced financial turmoil since the advent of managed healthcare and the ensuing structural changes in hospital administration during the 1980s, has lost more than $333 million since 1995, and reached a peak deficit of $83 million in 1999.

In fall 2003, GUMC fell short of its financial target goals due to lower-than-expected revenues from fundraising, among other factors. That December, the Medical Center, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, approved a watershed plan to reduce expenses by $19.75 million over two years, largely through layoffs.

Layoffs of over 65 staff and non-tenured faculty positions followed in September 2004. The university was able to achieve $7.9 million in savings through those layoffs, though it had projected $12.75 million in savings.

The Medical Center currently hopes to lower its deficit by $7 million in fiscal year 2006. It also seeks to break even and have a balanced budget by fiscal year 2007.