NASHVILLE (AP) - Vanderbilt University Medical Center has announced it will offer early retirement as one way to reduce costs as the hospital seeks to close a $70 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year.

The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/15iR8GL) reported medical school dean Dr. Jeff Balser sent a memo, saying new details on the cost-cutting effort would be released soon.

The academic medical center has reduced its staff by at least 300 employees in recent weeks.

Balser said the $100 million in desired savings this year is just over 3 percent of the medical center's $3.3 billion budget.

At the end of 2012, Vanderbilt had nearly 17,000 employees and more than 2,500 faculty members.

Besides the early retirement offer, Vanderbilt will make workflow changes to reduce need for replacements. Some posts will be permanently eliminated.