Hospital officials at Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland announced Tuesday the facility will eliminate 84 jobs as a result of a growing gap between cost of providing services and reimbursement through the state’s Medi-Cal program.

The cuts affect three doctors, half a dozen nurses, many assistant schedulers, housekeepers, security guards and other positions working in services including rheumatology, child development, cranial facial surgery and the Healthy Eating Active Lifestyle program, Children’s Hospital CEO Frank Tiedemann said, according to the East Bay Business Times. The elimination of the 84 full-time equivalent jobs is expected to result in an annual savings of $10 million.

“We are being hit hard by the slumping economy and the state budget crunch,” said Frank Tiedemann, the hospital’s chief executive. “It’s a challenging time for pediatric health care providers. But challenges lead to opportunities, making this an appropriate time for us to realign programs and services that will make us more effective and financially stable.”

The East Bay Business Times reported that the hospital ended 2007 with a 3.3 million loss on patient care income on net overall revenue of $376 million, and has been discussing since January what to do about a growing revenue gap. Tiedemann said that the hospital approved the staff cuts at its meeting June 24. According to the same source, the hospital will also close the Healthy Eating Active Lifestyle program, providing nutritional and other support to children.