Cheshire Medical Center cuts 12 jobs as it winds down inpatient rehab unit

The Keene hospital’s Farnum Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit will no longer accept new patients.

Cheshire Medical Center is reducing costs by shutting down its inpatient rehabilitation service and eliminating a dozen positions, part of an effort to bring the hospital’s budget back into balance.

The Keene hospital’s Farnum Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit will no longer accept new patients, according to Dr. Joseph Perras, the hospital’s president and CEO. Five employees were laid off, while most of the unit’s 39 workers were moved into other roles. In addition, the hospital removed seven more administrative and leadership jobs.

The 20-bed unit, which serves patients recovering from surgery, injury or illness that affects movement, is expected to close at the end of October, a Dartmouth Health spokesperson said Friday. Patients already receiving care there will be able to finish treatment before the closure takes effect.

Hospital officials said they have been coordinating with other regional facilities that offer inpatient rehabilitation so patients can be transferred with as little disruption as possible. Cheshire Medical Center said its outpatient rehabilitation programs will continue unchanged.

Perras said the decision reflects the hospital’s effort to rein in expenses after a period of heavy losses. He said the rehabilitation unit had low occupancy and that the cost of operating it could no longer be justified. He also said the hospital has spent the past six months working on a financial recovery plan aimed at reaching a break-even margin.

Financial records filed with the Electronic Municipal Market Access database show Cheshire Medical Center posted an operating loss of nearly $3 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, an improvement from about $8 million in losses the year before.

The announcement follows a separate round of staffing cuts at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon last week, when that Dartmouth Health affiliate eliminated 124 positions and removed 303 vacant roles as part of its own cost-cutting plan.