St. Vincent's Announces 180 Layoffs, Cites Economy
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St. Vincent's Hospital announced plans Wednesday to lay off 180 of its employees in an effort to maintain efficiency in the struggling economy.
In a memo sent to hospital physicians and staff Tuesday, President and CEO Henry Amaroso blamed the action on "the combination of the continuing economic downturn with the significant cuts in government spending."
Citing "hard choices," he continues, "we regret that layoffs are a necessary consequence of this action."
Hospital labor unions say the layoffs could be dangerous for patients.
"Certainly with layoffs there's less nurses, patients are sicker. There's increased possibility for complications and poor outcomes and we certainly don't want that. And certainly anything that would result in hospital closures is not in the best interest of community of the patients that we serve," said Nancy Weber of the New York State Nurses Association.
Amaroso says St. Vincent's, which employs 3,800 people, will transform itself into a community teaching hospital that will be more efficient in delivering essential clinical services and graduate medical education.