Conformis today said its full-time employees that were furloughed in March will return to active employment as early as April 27.
The employees’s return is due to a $4.7 million loan made available to the company under the Paycheck Protection Program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Conformis originally announced on March 23 that it was furloughing a third of employees.
“A month ago, we announced the difficult decision to furlough a significant portion of our direct workforce in response to mandated government shutdowns of elective surgery across the globe and especially in the United States. I am very pleased to report that, because of the federal government’s CARES Act and, specifically, the PPP Loan we received, we are able to return our employees to work,” Mark Augusti said in a news release.
Augusti also said company officials are seeing indications that U.S. elective surgeries may return slightly sooner than expected — especially in ambulatory surgical or outpatient centers, as noted by the government’s Phase 1 guidelines for “Opening Up America Again.”
“We believe that our proprietary approach to total joint replacement is uniquely suited for efficiently handling these outpatient cases,” Augusti said. “We would note that our approach also provides for a best-in-class approach to limiting infection and reducing the exposure and burden to medical staff.”
A majority of Conformis’s business is developing and manufacturing joint replacement implants and instruments. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released guidance on March 18 asking healthcare providers to postpone adult elective surgeries and procedures until further notice.
“The ongoing and future effects o the coronavirus pandemic are unpredictable and continue to evolve, but we believe that the actions we are taking are necessary and appropriate both for our employees and for preparing to serve our customers and patients as America gets back to business.”