The Hutcheson Medical Center building in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia on Thursday afternoon. The center, now managed by Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, will be laying off about 40 employees over the next 60 days.FT. OGLETHORPE, Ga. - Erlanger at Hutcheson will trim its workforce over the next 60 days to cut expenses and "right-size" the struggling North Georgia hospital, the chief executive officer said today.
CEO Roger Forgey said he did not have an exact number, but the cuts would be "less than 5 percent."
Hutcheson employs about 825 people in the Fort Oglethorpe hospital, a nursing home, primary care clinics and other services.
Forgey, who took over the lead role at Hutcheson in January, said the layoffs are a result of the hospital trying to move to a size that the community can support.
The hospital is certified as a 176-bed acute care facility, but the right size might be closer to 50 to 75 beds, Forgey said.
Hutcheson, which has been managed by Erlanger Health System since May, has lost about $1 million a month over the last year. The hospital laid off 75 employees in April.
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.