Tower Health An 'Insult To Pottstown,' Lawmaker Says

POTTSTOWN, PA — Local lawmakers called out Tower Health, the owner of both Pottstown and Phoenixville hospitals, for the recent layoffs and overall management of their business, saying local communities have "been rocked by Tower's greed" in recent years.

State Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-146) said that the hospital's executive leadership team has refused to meet with him or other local leaders to discuss the impact the layoff of 1,000 employees will have on the area.

"These layoffs have been the latest blow to a community that has been rocked by Tower’s greed in recent years," Ciresi said Wednesday.

>>Tower Health Cuts 1,000 Positions Amid Coronavirus Crisis

In addition to the cuts, Tower has also closed several of its services, including the Pottstown Hospital Maternity Unit, the Coventry Foot and Ankle center, Premier GYN in Limerick, and behavioral health services at Reading Hospital. "Potential additional future actions may be taken" as well, Tower noted in their announcement June 16.

"Through a spokesman, President Clint Matthews declined to meet with me or discuss these decisions in detail," Ciresi said. "Our constituents deserve more than talking points from a hospital spokesman. It’s a shame."

Tower Health did not immediately respond to a Patch request for comment on this story.

Ciresi said that the previous owners of Phoenixville and Pottstown hospitals, Community Health Systems, operated them as a for-profit business. This meant that both local districts received significant funding in property taxes from the hospital. In Pottstown, that came out to around $900,000 annually, officials said.

When Tower purchased a group of several area hospitals in 2017, however, they did so as a nonprofit, meaning the revenue stream changed significantly. The change costs the borough of Pottstown about $235,000 a year.

“How much in uncompensated care is the Pottstown Hospital providing, to justify its non-profit status?" Ciresi said.

Tower said they hoped their layoffs will save them around $230 million over the next two years. They said they lost around $212 million, a 40 percent drop in revenue, due to the shut down of nonessential services during the height of the coronavirus crisis. Net spending also increased over the same period due to need for increased staffing and protective gear.

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.