Greenwood (Miss.) Leflore Hospital is laying off 86 employees — about 17% of its workforce — and eliminating several service lines as it prepares for a potential closure or acquisition by a larger health system.
The layoffs, which include 46 full-time and 40 part-time employees, will occur this week and are permanent, the hospital said in a statement shared with Becker’s. Most positions are being eliminated immediately, though some clinical staff, primarily therapists, will be temporarily retained to support continuity of care for active patients.
The hospital said it has no severance policy in place for affected employees.
The cuts come as the hospital explores options to transfer operations to another system, including a potential takeover by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. A letter of intent signed in early March gives both parties 180 days to negotiate exclusively, though either side may terminate the deal with 30 days’ notice.
The organizations had explored a partnership in 2022, but those talks collapsed.
Several hospital services are being eliminated as part of the restructuring:
- Outpatient rehab center (closing within 15 days)
- Cardiac rehab (closing within 15 days)
- After-hours clinic (closed immediately)
- Wellness center (closed immediately)
Additional departments across the hospital are also seeing immediate staffing cuts, though officials did not specify which. About 425 employees will remain, along with 58 contracted workers, to maintain core operations, according to the hospital. Key clinical services will continue, including:
- Surgery, including general, vascular, orthopedic and ENT
- Radiology and diagnostic imaging
- Laboratory services
- Neurology
- Gastroenterology and endoscopy
- Radiation oncology
- Outpatient infusion services
- Retail pharmacy
- Swing bed services
Physician clinics will also remain open, and the emergency department will continue operating without disruption.
“While some areas of the hospital are being restructured, our emergency department remains fully operational, fully staffed and fully committed to delivering the same high level of care our community depends on — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” the hospital said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
The restructuring follows months of financial instability at the hospital.
Greenwood Leflore has been in ongoing negotiations with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid about a viable repayment agreement and sought state approval earlier this year to pursue Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. The hospital narrowly avoided closure in December, but faces mounting financial pressure.
Editor’s note: Becker’s will update this story as more information becomes available.
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