Hospital official unsure what financial impact loss of doctors will have
A Uniontown Hospital official said it’s too early to tell if the loss of two out of four orthopedists in Uniontown will have a financial impact on the hospital, but added that there are no immediate plans to reduce staff. Paul Bacharach, President/CEO of Uniontown Hospital, said they are actively looking for doctors to replace the ones that are leaving. “We’re working to find people to come to Uniontown and Fayette County,” he said. “But it’s a difficult task.”
On July 1, Dr. Owen A. Nelson will be the only orthopedist in a practice off Delaware Avenue that a couple months ago included Dr. Thomas B. Jones Jr. and Dr. Phillip J. Spinuzza. Jones closed his office at the end of last month and Spinuzza will close his office at the end of this month. Between the three doctors, they performed 1,200 operations last year.
The only other orthopedist in the city is Dr. William J. Mitchell.
Bacharach said Jones and Spinuzza did a significant amount of work at the hospital. He said Nelson and Mitchell will pick up some of the work, but they can’t do it all. He said some work may have to be transferred to other institutions, and at least one transfer has already occurred.
A transfer is also what is occurring with Drs. Jones and Spinuzza. Both men are leaving Pennsylvania to set up practices in other states. Spinuzza is leaving solely because of a lack of medical malpractice tort reform and Jones is leaving partially due to the tort reform issue but also for personal reasons.
In a recent interview, Jones said unless real tort reform is enacted, more doctors will be leaving the state. There is currently tort reform in the U.S. Congress that, if passed, would supercede the staqte constitution, which doesn’t allow for a cap on settlements.
Bacharach said he has recently been meeting with the approximately 1,000 employees of the hospital and making plans for next year. He said there are currently no plans for staff reductions and, in fact, they are adding a few additional positions.
Last year, Uniontown Hospital did better financially than any other area hospital. The hospital had an operating margin of 3.46 last year, which was more than the 2.50 percent average among the 38 hospitals in the Western Pennsylvania region.
Since things are typically slower in the hospital in the summer months, the real impact of the loss of Jones and Spinuzza may not be felt until next year. However, Bacharach said in the orthopedics field, summer months can be busy with children out riding bikes and skateboards. No matter what happens, Bacharach said they are very actively engaged in trying to find replacements for Jones and Spinuzza.
“We haven’t really contemplated if we will lay anyone off. There has been no immediate financial impact,” he said. “We kind of have to wait and see. Call me in two months.”