Medical Jobs Cut As Hospital Closes Doors

Just one month after holding a job fair for nursing, mental health and physical therapy positions, North Oakland Medical Center in Pontiac, Michigan, has closed its doors. The non-profit hospital – founded in 1910 – laid off employees, transferred patients, and shut down on October 28. Nearly 800 medical jobs were eliminated.

In 2007, the hospital lost $13.4 million and subsequently filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 2008, listing $100 million in debt. This past summer, Oakland Physicians Medical Center LLC, agreed to purchase the hospital. Oakland Physicians Medical Center, a group of 72 physicians, planned to invest $20 million into the hospital to help keep its 178 beds in use. However, due to the current economic downturn, the physicians group could not get a suitable loan to carry out the plan.

According to the Detroit News, the city of Pontiac has a $7 million budget deficit and the hospital layoffs will crush the city’s financial bottom line. Mayor Clarence Phillips is hoping for a line of credit to reverse the hospital’s fate.

North Oakland Medical Center provided care to primarily indigent patients with no health insurance, which only continued to rise as the income level in many parts of the city declined. The lack of money left the hospital unable to update its medical technology.

“All of the NOMC employees and medical staff have been dedicated to the success of this hospital and to the care of our patients,” John Graham, North Oakland’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

“We are very grateful for their devotion, and we deeply regret that we have been forced to implement plans for closure, but we are committed to providing quality patient care and safety during this transition,” he said.