Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center has laid off a handful of employees as the hospital deals with the economic woes hitting almost every industry, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The move involved a mix of leaving open positions vacant and laying off employees, Yakima Regional spokeswoman Janice Richards said.

Richards said less than 2 percent of the hospital's 900 hospital and clinic positions were affected, although she didn't release actual numbers. Most of the cuts came in support positions that are not directly related to patient care, such as secretaries, she said.

Employees were notified last week, she said. Some of the layoffs could be temporary if business picks up soon. Hospital officials may re-evaluate that early in 2009, she said.

Richards said the hospital regularly changes staffing to match patient volumes, but she described this layoff as the first economy-driven reduction following three years of "healthy growth."

Hospitals are not immune to the economic problems that are cutting across the rest of the country.

"When people are afraid of their economic situation, they are not going to do elective surgery; some of them may be nervous about actually having health insurance," Richards said.

Regional is owned by Health Management Associates, which operates 56 hospitals primarily in rural areas in the Southeast and Southwest. The publicly traded company also runs Toppenish Community Hospital.

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, the city's nonprofit hospital, has not had any recent layoffs, a spokesman said Wednesday.