200 HMC workers to be laid off on Christmas Eve

Hawaii Medical Center has issued layoff notices effective Saturday for more than 200 employees at its bankrupt hospitals.

HMC, which is closing the former St. Francis Medical Centers in Liliha and Ewa and leaving nearly 1,000 workers jobless, said the work-force reduction will not affect patient care. There are fewer than 60 patients left at HMC East and HMC West, which stopped hospital admissions a week ago. 

"The remaining patients continue to receive quality care and will be discharged or transferred to other medical facilities in the next week or two," said HMC CEO Maria Kostylo in a statement. "We are working diligently with area hospitals and long-term care facilities to ensure continuity of care."

The facilities discharged or transferred roughly 70 patients this week. 

The company said in the statement that it has been working with bargaining units and offering unemployment counseling services through the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

"We truly regret the layoff and the impact it will have on affected employees, their families and the community," Kostylo added. "This was something we had been working hard over the last six months to avoid, first through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and then through our efforts to sell the hospitals."

More layoffs will occur over the next few weeks as departments close and the patient count declines, HMC said.