Select Hospital to close in 2017
Long-term care facility's loss will cost 103 jobs
By Lisa Green | The Journal Gazette
Select Specialty Hospital plans to close its Fort Wayne operation by early next year, according to a notice filed with the state.
The shutdown of the long-term, acute-care facility will affect 103 workers, according to information posted Thursday on the Indiana Department of Workforce Development website.
A charge nurse at Select Specialty referred a Thursday night call about the closing to a senior communications manager for Select Medical, but that spokeswoman could not be immediately reached. Select Specialty is a subsidiary of Select Medical, whose hospital network includes more than 100 long-term acute-care sites across the U.S., according to its website.
Select has been operating on the seventh and eighth floors of St. Joseph Hospital but is an independent operation.
Local health care providers were alerted to the planned closing Wednesday, said Geoff Thomas, Lutheran Health Network spokesman.
“I know that Select has been leasing space at St. Joe for some time,” Thomas said Thursday night.
The impact locally on health care is unclear. Other providers offer similar long-term care.
“I think it offers an opportunity for the other similar organizations to potentially pick up additional patients,” Thomas said, although he did not have details about Select’s local operation.
Workforce Development and Northeast Indiana Works said in a news release Thursday afternoon that the state’s Rapid Response team is prepared to help employees affected by Select’s closing.
The notice of closing was issued Tuesday by the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, company.
“We hope to accomplish this closing with the least possible disruption to the lives of our employees and the community,” John Saich, Select’s executive vice president and chief human resources officer, said in a letter to the state.
Workforce Development stamped the letter as received on Wednesday.
Select plans to close Jan. 6 or within 14 days of that. “There will be no bumping rights,” Saich’s letter said. “None of the employees are represented by a union.”
The state’s Rapid Response team is activated “when a significant layoff or plant closure occurs,” the news release said, and designed to help displaced workers find re-employment as soon as possible. Assistance includes help with resumes, interview workshops and skills assessments. The time and date of the first session will be announced later.
