Tower Health announced plans to eliminate about 350 positions, roughly 3% of its workforce, and close select programs in an effort to remain financially stable, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Pottstown Hospital will lose 131 administrative and clinical jobs over the next two months as the facility prepares to close its intensive care unit, medical/surgical step-down unit, and endoscopy center in mid-January. Services at the McGlinn Cancer Institute will also be scaled back, though radiation oncology will continue.
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) represents roughly 300 employees at Pottstown Hospital. They called the move a “devastating blow to the Pottstown community.”
Tower Health CEO Michael Stern said the decision reflects the growing financial pressures hospitals face nationwide. This includes rising labor and supply costs and stagnant reimbursement rates. “These difficult decisions were not made lightly,” the health system said in a statement. “They were made out of necessity to ensure that we can chart our own pathway forward and continue serving our communities.”
The affected service lines will remain available at Tower Health’s nearby hospitals in Phoenixville and West Reading. While the health system recently posted its first operating profit since 2018, Pottstown Hospital continues to run at a loss.
Learn more about Tower Health’s cuts in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
