On July 1, San Diego-based Sharp HealthCare announced it would eliminate 315 roles, roughly 1.5% of its workforce. The layoffs target non-clinical, non-revenue-generating positions, including senior-level marketing and medical information roles. Executives also took voluntary pay cuts, including a 10% reduction by the CEO.  

A perfect storm of rising expenses, seismic retrofit mandates, and stagnant reimbursements opened the door for these cuts. But Sharp’s moves aren’t isolated—they’re a signal about where priorities are shifting across the C-suite. Tighter margins in an already-narrow game call for a re-ranking of what systems view as essential, not merely cost-cutting. Systems are re-evaluating the necessity of “strategic” roles like marketing, informatics, and non-clinical services, analyzing them through a direct-value lens.  

To address the challenges health systems are facing, partners should emphasize their ability to directly impact ROI through capacity gains, measurable cost avoidance, or clinical throughput. With internal roles cut, health systems’ will need more external support.  

Partnership Framing for Industry Members 

• Reframe “non-core” offerings through a margin or mission lens. If it doesn’t tie to cost savings, access, or care efficiency, it’s at risk.  

• Ask who owns the problem now. If your buyer’s role is gone or reduced, map to adjacent stakeholders in finance or operations.  

• Show empathy but stay anchored in value. Messaging that pairs cost sensitivity with measurable impact will land best.