Catholic Health System late Monday announced a “reconfiguration plan” that will shift maternity and surgical services away from Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston as health care continues to change and the health system seeks to right-size services amid recent financial losses.
The plan, which will occur over the next few weeks, calls for creating a neighborhood hospital model at Mount St. Mary’s, similar to what Catholic Health is building at the new $62 million Lockport Memorial Hospital in the eastern portion of Niagara County.
As part of that, Catholic Health said it will reduce the Lewiston hospital’s inpatient medical beds and transition surgery, maternity, dialysis and gastrointestinal services to other Catholic Health hospitals. Once the reconfiguration is done, Mount St. Mary’s will have 20 to 30 beds between inpatient medical and the intensive care unit, spokesperson JoAnn Cavanaugh said. On top of that, the hospital’s 69-bed Clearview Substance Use Treatment Center will also remain.
The Buffalo health system also will discontinue imaging services at its Porter Road site in Niagara Falls.
The health system said maternity and surgical patients will receive information in the coming days to transition their care to other Catholic Health facilities after June 30.
Cavanaugh said “just over 100” employees will be affected by the changes but will be offered other positions at Mount St. Mary’s, Lockport Memorial or within Catholic Health.
“There will be seniority bumping as part of the union contract but we have plenty of job openings and anticipate there will be jobs available for displaced associates,” she said.
Catholic Health, the region’s second-largest health system behind Kaleida Health, said the reconfiguration fits into its strategy to create “Centers of Excellence” within its hospital network.
“The strength of our system, in terms of quality, safety, and patient satisfaction, is helping us respond to the seismic changes…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply