CLEVELAND — With Wednesday's news of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center’s transformation, hundreds of employees are now in search of a new job.
The hospital announced Wednesday it will dissolve impatient care and acute care in mid-November and shift to ambulatory care only.
In a walk just across the street from St. Vincent Charity Medical Center is where dozens find themselves in a place they didn’t expect to be, like Jaime Olitsky, who spent the last 16 years as a nurse there.
“I said, ‘Oh my God,” Olitsky told 3News when asked what her reaction to the news was.
Olitsky said she chose St. Vincent Charity for the environment.
“That’s what I liked about here so much, because it was more intimate. It wasn't that fast business-like pace,” she said.
For Felisia Nettles, the hospital is home to good memories for the last 20 years.
“I started as a surgical tech and became a [registered nurse]. St. Vincent's has been very good to me,” Nettles said. “Sometimes if you're not able to move, sometimes life gives you a big old push.”
Olitsky and Nettles are two of 500 employees looking for a new start after the hospital’s announcement.
“I have faith. So I know that, you know, I’ll get another job,” Olitsky said.
MetroHealth held a job fair just 24 hours after the announcement, hoping to absorb new employees as it prepares to open its new facility, The Glick Center.
University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic told 3News they are also open to applications.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals said like similar hospitals across the nation, it too continues to fight staffing shortages with 3,425 positions in all departments open.
“This is my life. This is my career. So I’m definitely looking [for a new healthcare job],” Olitsky said. “I feel bad for the people who, you know, have been here.”
“It’s like be open, embrace the change and be ready. So you don't have to get ready,” Nettles said.
- For more information about upcoming MetroHealth job fairs, click here.
- For more information about jobs at University Hospitals, click here.
- For more information about jobs at the Cleveland Clinic, click here.
Previous Reporting:
- MetroHealth hosting hiring event for qualified healthcare workers amid St. Vincent Charity Medical Center ending inpatient care
- Cleveland city leaders, Salvation Army alarmed after St. Vincent Charity Hospital announces it will cease inpatient care
- St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland to stop inpatient care as plans for transformation announced