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St. Joseph’s Hospital Closing, Close to 700 Jobs to be Eliminated


According to CBS Philly, a consolidation move by North Philadelphia Health System (NPHS) will leave about 700 people jobless. NPHS announced the closure of St. Joseph’s Hospital months ago and their projected date of closure, March 31st of this year, is rapidly approaching.

St. Joseph's Hospital

St. Joseph’s Hospital./Dan Rainville

Operations previously taking place at St. Joseph’s, a 227-bed facility located at 16th Street and Girard Avenue, will be condensed into Girard Medical Center, located at 8th Street and Girard Avenue. NPHS is said to be working with the Department of Human Services to make sure that care options are available to residents who had previously sought treatment at St. Joseph’s.

The community in question will be impacted by the closure of St. Joseph’s; they are already pressed for medical services and many of their patients live in poverty or with low income. According to NPHS’s website, St. Joseph’s provides not only medical and surgical care, but also drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation in addition to psychological care. Their drug and alcohol detoxification facility is currently the largest operating in Philadelphia.

St. Joseph's Hospital

St. Joseph’s Hospital./Dan Rainville

“This is a very difficult decision for all involved, but we recognize that as part of the state’s plan for this community, it makes more sense to consolidate onto one campus that can more effectively provide health care services to the community,” NPHS said in a released statement. “Our highest priority remains the health and safety of our patients, and for this reason NPHS is committed to working with our state and city partners to complete the consolidation in a safe and orderly manner as we strengthen our operations at Girard Medical Center. The consolidation of NPHS operations will unfortunately impact workers and their families at St. Joseph’s Hospital. While nearly 400 jobs at Girard Medical Center will not be affected, the planned closure of St. Joseph’s Hospital, expected to be made effective on March 31, 2016, may result in the layoff of up to 675 workers.”

Repeated attempts to contact St. Joseph’s for comment on the closing and ensuing layoffs were made by Spirit News, but no response was ever received.

St. Joseph's Hospital Emergency Entrance

St. Joseph’s Hospital Emergency Entrance./ Dan Rainville

According to Philadelphia Business Journal, the closure and subsequent lost jobs may come as a result of state efforts to reshape the delivery of healthcare to low-income patients in the area. The roughly $16 million collected by St. Joseph’s in fiscal 2015, state funding for their treatment of low-income patients and those without health insurance, was set to be reduced for the upcoming year.

Patients of St. Joseph’s are expected to relocate to Temple University Health System or Hahnemann University Hospital, although services carried out at St. Joseph’s, currently, are supposed to become available through Girard Medical Center.

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