'Patients Will Suffer': Nurses Decry Closure Of Montgomery Co. Hospital's ER

EAST NORRITON, PA — Nurses at Suburban Community Hospital said they were blindsided by the sudden decision last week to lay off dozens and eliminate the hospital's emergency department.

“Prime came into this area in 2016 with the promise that they were going to rebuild the network and offer excellent, high-quality healthcare to the medically needy population of Norristown,” Shannan Giambrone, RN, who has worked at Suburban for 25 years, told Patch. “But since then, all Prime has done is cut services."

The for-profit owners of Suburban, Prime Healthcare, said the facility will be reduced to 15 beds and will function exclusively as a adult behavioral health center, managed as part of the larger Roxborough Memorial Hospital.

The decision came just weeks after a new agreement was reached between Prime and the nurse's union at Suburban. The contract guaranteed pay raises, additional staffing, and other protections. That's now gone.

"They’ve left the community in the lurch and they’ve cut staff, severely paring our numbers and bringing less and less employment to the region," Giambrone added.

Around 109 nurses will lose their jobs in the layoffs, which go into effect July 7.

Prime characterized the decision as a "direct response to the increased and unmet need" for behavioral health services. Nurses quip back that Prime itself shut down Suburban's previous mental health branch back in 2023.

In their announcement earlier this month, Prime did not address the impact of the layoffs or the closure of the emergency department.

"The transition of Suburban Community Hospital into the Suburban Behavioral Health Campus of Roxborough Memorial Hospital reflects our unwavering dedication to meeting the urgent behavioral health needs of the region," Dr. Sonia Mehta, the CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Prime in the Pennsylvania region, told Patch.

"Despite its motto, despite its rebranding of the hospital, Prime Healthcare has shown itself to be an out-of-state actor clearly unconcerned with the health and well-being of the people of Montgomery County or with the nurses who provide their patient communities with care," a spokesperson for the Suburban General Nurses’ Association told Patch.

Suburban lost its previous behavioral health wing in 2023. It the shrunk to a "micro-hospital" in 2024, reducing its capacity from 127 beds to 60, amid calls from healthcare leaders and officials across Pennsylvania on the urgent need for more beds and a large care capacity. Nurses say Prime's moves are not reflective of a committed, community health organization, as their mission statement indicates, and that "patients will suffer" as a direct result of Prime's moves.

"Don’t look at what they say,” Suburban ER nurse Octavia Rumer said. "Pay attention to what they do."

See previous recent coverage on hospital issues in Montgomery County:

• Suburban Hospital To Lay Off 100 Nurses, Cut Emergency Department
• How Safe Are Einstein, Suburban Hospitals? New Patient Safety Grades Released
  
• Montco Hospital Nurses Union Reaches New Contract After Strike