More than 200 employees of the bankrupt Hawaii Medical Centers received notice Friday that they would be terminated as of today, Christmas Eve.

HMC, which is closing the former St. Francis Medical Centers in Liliha and Ewa, will leave nearly 1,000 workers jobless.

"The timing really sucks — that is kind of harsh to do it on Christmas Eve," said Kaneohe registered nurse Mary Lichota, 50, who was officially laid off today. "I wish they would’ve picked a better date. If they would’ve done it earlier, that would’ve been easier to swallow.

Lichota is losing her entire household income. She lives with her 22-year-old daughter, an HMC security officer, also soon to be left jobless.

"It’s really sad because I’m the main breadwinner in the family," she added. "What I’m worried about especially is that nursing jobs are very few and far between, so I may have to leave to the mainland … and leave my family here. It’s scary for everybody."

Ace Wills, a 35-year-old interventional radiography technologist, and his wife, Kuuipo, an HMC medical assistant, also are losing dual income. The couple with two children — ages 13 and 3 — were forced to move in this month with his parents.

"We stand to lose a lot. I’m probably going to have to try and qualify for Quest to get medical (coverage) for my kids," he said. "If I can’t find a job here in the next few months, I’m going to have to start looking on the mainland. The timing is so unfair. … The timing is just horrible."

Many of his co-workers aren’t as fortunate to have family to fall back on, and "some people stand to lose their homes because of this," he added.

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

HMC, which has been in bankruptcy since June, was essentially forced to shut down and abandon its plan to sell the hospitals to an affiliate of its lender, Prime Healthcare Services. St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, its largest secured creditor, had objected to the potential sale because the Catholic religious order wouldn’t have been repaid the nearly $40 million it was owed.

"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."

Hawaii News Now video: Layoff notices arrive for 200 hospital workers