WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- Landmark Medical Center laid off 31 people on Tuesday. They included members of management, administrative and patient care staffs. Spokesman Bill Fischer said the cuts were needed "to protect the viability of the hospital in the long term."
Christopher Callaci, general counsel of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals, said that about half the laid-off employees are union members.
Additionally, the hospital's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert S. Crausman, stepped down shortly after the hospital signed a sales agreement with Prime Healthcare Services of California three weeks ago. "I accomplished everything I wanted to do there," he said, because the agreement with Prime means "the hospital has a secure future." Crausman is returning to private practice and academia.
This story was first posted at 4:44 p.m.