Upland, Pa.-based Crozer Health will cut 30 positions at its Ridley Park, Pa.-based Taylor Hospital due to the 107-bed hospital ending surgical services by Sept. 1, The Philadelphia Business Journal reported Aug. 28.
A spokesperson from Crozer Health told the publication that all affected employees, including support and surgical services positions, were offered other roles within the health system. Fifteen of the employees took other Crozer jobs while the other 15 decided to leave their positions.
The affected employee count represented less than 1% of the health system's 3,400 employees, the spokesperson told the Biz Journal.
Crozer shared plans in early August to consolidate its surgical services to Crozer-Chester Medical Center after a thorough evaluation of its surgical case volumes and staffing changes.
"Taylor Hospital, which has been averaging 3-4 surgical cases per day, will no longer provide surgical services due to a reduction in general surgeons and a need to optimize our resources," Tony Esposito, CEO of Crozer Health, said in an Aug. 29 statement shared with Becker's. "Taylor Hospital will continue to serve the community by offering comprehensive non-surgical care and emergency services. We remain committed to delivering high-quality care and supporting the health needs of our patients."
Prospect Medical Holdings, Crozer's for-profit owner, recently signed a letter of intent to sell the four-hospital system to CHA Partner, a deal that would return the hospitals to nonprofit status.
The sale has received scrutiny from state lawmakers. In late August, Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney raised concerns about the lack of detail and transparency around the sale and called on the state's attorney general to conduct a thorough review of the deal.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals told Becker's that 14 of the employees they represent were affected by the restructuring.
"My heart breaks for our patients," Theresa Wisely, RN, said in an Aug. 28 PASNAP news release shared with Becker's. "The community relies on this hospital. Yet despite what our patient community needs and deserves, Prospect has slowly chiseled away at our services, prompting patients to leave the system and go elsewhere."
Ms. Wisley was one of the employees affected by the restructuring but has now taken a job in the post-anesthesia care unit at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.