Cuts and layoffs are 'imminent' at Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital, even if Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare revives its interest in a deal to acquire Waterbury and four other Connecticut hospitals, Waterbury CEO Darlene Stromstad told the Hartford Courant.
In the Hartford Courant report, Ms. Stromstad said a $9.8 million reduction this year in state and federal reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare patients forces the hospital to cut its budget. Additionally, the hospital will discontinue some services, and layoffs are "imminent," she said in the report. She did not tell the Hartford Courant when layoffs would occur.
The Hartford Courant reported earlier this week that a top Tenet executive plans to meet with Connecticut Senate leaders about the deal. That report stated that "it's not new negotiations, it's just a conversation."
Ms. Stromstad told the Hartford Courant that cuts and layoffs are imminent, even if Tenet's interest in the deal is revived by that conversation.
Tenet planned to acquire Waterbury as well as four other Connecticut hospitals: Bristol Hospital; Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury; and Eastern Connecticut Health Network, based in Manchester, which owns Rockville General in Vernon and Manchester Memorial.
However, in December, Tenet announced it would no longer pursue those efforts due to proposed conditions state regulators put on the hospital operator's purchase of Waterbury.