THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240506
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 34 lines
It's official. Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth took ownership of rival Portsmouth General Hospital on Thursday.
The sale, announced three weeks ago, means that the 97-year-old Portsmouth General eventually will be shut down. The amount of the sale has not been disclosed.
Maryview is developing a schedule for closing or moving most departments at downtown Portsmouth General, and officials haven't decided when the first layoffs will happen, said John Stone, senior vice president at Maryview.
Maryview is owned by nonprofit Bon Secours Health System, a group affiliated with the Catholic Church and based in Marriottsville, Md.
Until Thursday, Portsmouth General, located at 850 Crawford Parkway, was owned by Tidewater Health Care, a nonprofit company based in Virginia Beach. Tidewater Health Care also owns Virginia Beach General Hospital and co-owns several health maintenance organizations with Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield of Richmond.
Two key services at Portsmouth General, the emergency room and an outpatient clinic, will remain downtown at least until June of the year 2000. All other services likely will be closed or shifted to Maryview's campus, at 3636 High St., over the next 18 to 24 months.
About 50 of 830 employees at Portsmouth General probably will lose their jobs by the end of this year. Eventually, 300 more may be laid off, officials have said.
Portsmouth General had been losing money for years. The financial problems were attributed primarily to the growth of managed care, a type of insurance that aims to hold down costs by limiting hospital visits. by CNB