Daughters of Charity Health System, a six-hospital network based in Los Altos, Calif., plans to cut services at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, Calif., and O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, Calif., according to NBC Bay Area.
Plans at Saint Louise involve cutting the labor and delivery unit and pediatric services, while plans at O'Connor involve reconfiguring the pediatrics unit and cutting the neonatal intensive care unit, according to the report. O'Connor also plans to shut down its outpatient physical therapy department.
"The decisions were difficult, but had to be made to save the hospitals," Daughters of Charity spokeswoman Donna Cumming told NBC Bay Area, noting that 60 percent of the families in Saint Louise's service area go to San Jose for labor and delivery services, based on research, and the hospital's pediatrics unit sees six admissions a month.
Layoffs are expected.
In the meantime, prospective buyers, including Santa Clara County, have expressed interest in the hospitals, according to the report. The interest comes after Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services backed out of a deal to acquire the system's six hospitals.
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