Providence Swedish South Puget Sound, the operator of Olympia, Wash.-based Providence St. Peter Hospital, plans to reduce the majority of its outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services in January, according to an Oct. 31 report from The Olympian.
The affected clinics and services will shutter Jan. 17, resulting in 55 layoffs. The clinics will also stop accepting new patients Nov. 1.
The clinics closing include Tumwater Physical Therapy, Chehalis Physical Therapy, physical therapy services at the Providence Panorama Clinic in Lacey, Wash., and pediatric and orthopedic rehabilitation programs at Providence St. Peter Outpatient Orthopedic and Hand Therapy, also in Lacey.
Clinic leadership spent a year evaluating the decision before alerting employees in mid-October, according to the report.
Specialty outpatient rehabilitation services will continue at Providence Centralia Hospital, and no changes will be made to the inpatient therapy services provided.
Providence could not compete in the marketplace for outpatient therapy because "there are a number of independent providers and groups who offer these healthcare services," a system leader told The Olympian.