Brentwood, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital operator RCCH HealthCare Partners eliminated 62 jobs at Lewiston, Idaho-based St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Thursday, The Lewiston Tribune reports.
RCCH HealthCare Partners acquired St. Joseph Regional May 1. The cuts represent 6 percent of St. Joseph Regional's staff, and comprise the hospital's CMO Michael Rooney, MD, other executives and nurses. No other physicians were included in the layoffs, and some affected services may be relocated.
RCCH HealthCare Partners pointed to declining patient volumes during the hospital's ownership transition as reason for the cuts.
"It impacted most departments across the hospital," Jeff Atwood, a spokesman for RCCH HealthCare Partners, told The Lewiston Tribune.
In a release to the publication, St. Joseph Regional's interim CEO Cindy Cowie added minimal investments in services and physician recruitment affected the decision, which led to staff outnumbering patient need.