MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Citing budget problems, Mercy Regional
Health Center in Manhattan is eliminating 61 jobs and shutting down
two units.
Hospital President and CEO Richard Allen said increased
competition, poor reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid and more
uninsured and underinsured patients led to the restructuring. He
said the hospital had been running on a break-even basis for
several months.
Twenty of the 61 full- and part-time positions are already
vacant and will not be filled. Several non-bedside jobs were
eliminated, including some management positions.
The reduction includes the closure of the hospital's Inpatient
Behavioral Health Unit and the Specialty Care Clinic, a program
that focuses on wound care management.