Tower Health To Furlough 1,000 Employees Amid Coronavirus Impacts

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Tower Health, the owner of several hospitals in the local area including Phoenixville and Pottstown, will furlough around 1,000 employees due to the economic impacts of coronavirus, they announced Tuesday.

All of the employees are full-time, and work in a range of positions from support and administration to technical areas. The company did not provide a breakdown of how these cuts would impact individual facilities, so it's not yet clear exactly how many employees at Phoenixville and Pottstown will be impacted.

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While hospitals are more vital amid the outbreak than ever, they've had to cease many non-urgent services, leading in some cases to substantial financial losses. Tower cited a 40 to 50 percent decline in revenue.

"This decision has been extremely difficult." Therese Sucher, Tower's chief operating officer wrote in a memo to employees. "Every employee at Tower Health is critical to fulfilling our promise of 'Advancing Health. Transforming Lives.' and we regret that these extraordinary circumstances have forced us to take these measures."

Tower purchased five hospitals in the region from Community Health Systems back in Oct. 2017: Phoenixville Hospital, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Chestnut Hospital in Philadelphia, and Jennersville Regional Hospital in West Grove.

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Tower said they "believed" the furlough would be temporary.

In the meantime, furloughed employees are permitted to use their Earned Time Off and Income Protection Time. Employees who are under a Tower Health benefits plan will continue to have coverage during the furlough period.

Employees are permitted to apply for unemployment benefits, so long as the employee remains available for a potential recall.

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