DOH: Berwick Hospital to transition to free-standing psychiatric hospital

Bill O’Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Jul. 27—BERWICK — The Pennsylvania Department of Health has received notification from the owner of Berwick Hospital Center that they would be closing the acute care hospital and that they have applied to transition the location to a free-standing psychiatric hospital licensed by the Department of Human Services.

Mark O'Neill, press secretary at the Department of Health, said, "The owner provided a 90-day notice of closure to the department on July 15, 2022."

Caregivers at Berwick Hospital responded to the news of the acute care facility plan to close and more than 80 union healthcare workers at the hospital said they were shocked to learn of the closing from local news reports.

The hospital is located at 701 E. 16th St., Berwick.

For weeks, healthcare workers at Berwick Hospital said they have been seeking a meeting with hospital owner Priyam Sharma of Fayette Holdings to discuss the rumors surrounding the potential sale or closing of their community hospital only to be rebuffed and ignored.

Now their concerns and fears have been confirmed.

"We've had serious concerns for the future of our community hospital, but we were caught completely off guard by the recent news reports announcing the closing of Berwick Hospital," said Matthew Yarnell, President of SEIU Healthcare PA, the union representing almost 90 healthcare workers at the hospital. "We'll be working to get answers to pressing questions and connecting with local stakeholders to discuss finding a way to possibly save our hospital."

Efforts to obtain comment from hospital ownership were not successful.

SEIU's Yarnell said rural hospital closures continue to plague communities across the country.

"If the hospital does shut its doors for good, Berwick-area residents will be forced to drive almost 30 minutes to the next nearest acute care hospital — a situation that could have deadly consequences in a medical emergency," an SEIU news release stated.

"Our biggest concern is what happens to our patients and our community when our hospital isn't here anymore," said Cathy Curtin, a Laboratory Technician who's been at Berwick Hospital for more than 30 years. "Our hospital is essential to the Berwick community. It's just wrong for them to shut it down like this."

Union caregivers at Berwick Hospital will be meeting this week to discuss next steps and plans to reach out to community members and leaders. They hope to organize a united effort to keep the hospital open and demand transparency from Fayette Holdings and Priyam Sharma.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.