The Sentinel — Corcoran District Hospital closed its emergency room today, with the CEO saying that the rest of the hospital isn’t pulling in enough revenue to offset ongoing losses in the ER’s budget.
The closure forced the layoffs of 14 staff members, mostly nurses, and terminated contracts with five independent ER doctors, said CEO Jonathan Brenn.
“We just have to close it, at least temporarily,” said Brenn. “We’ve been able to use the profits from surgery to cover the losses in ER. That’s no longer sustainable.”
The number of inmate patients from California State Prison Corcoran and Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility is declining, cutting deeply into the hospital’s operating budget.
The state, trying to balance its own budget, is reducing medical services for prisoners and shifting more of them to county lockups.
Corcoran District Hospital relies heavily on prison patients and doesn’t have a good substitute for the revenue they provide.
Friday’s closure and layoffs comes after the hospital laid off 19 workers in February in an attempt to balance its budget. continue reading...
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