Pottstown Hospital is owned by Tower Health. (MediaNews Group File Photo)
Despite signs of financial recovery — including an operating profit of $4.2 million over the first nine months of fiscal year 2025 — Tower Health continues to face economic headwinds, per the report
Tower Health has eliminated 50 positions across its regional hospital system, including at Phoenixville, Pottstown, and Reading hospitals.
The cuts, announced to affected employees on June 26, primarily target management roles and unfilled vacancies, according to The Mercury.
While the job reductions represent less than 0.5% of the health system’s 10,000-person workforce, they are part of an ongoing effort to streamline operations.
Despite signs of financial recovery — including an operating profit of $4.2 million over the first nine months of fiscal year 2025 — Tower Health continues to face economic headwinds, per the report.
Earlier reports indicate that Phoenixville and Pottstown hospitals alone posted combined losses of $37.3 million during that same period.
These staffing reductions come as Tower attempts to strengthen organizational resilience following years of significant losses, including a $400 million deficit in 2020, according to the article. The company said the decision was made to optimize internal structures without compromising patient care.
However, the timing coincides with labor unrest at Pottstown Hospital, where unionized nurses have worked without a contract since November, The Mercury reported.
The union, Pottstown Nurses United, plans to hold an informational picket on Wednesday to protest what they describe as unequal pay and union-busting tactics, according to the report. The group, affiliated with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, has gained support from multiple Democratic state and county officials.
In a letter to Tower Health leadership, the lawmakers criticized the health system for resisting union efforts and for recent legal action that reportedly cost the local school district nearly $1 million in tax revenue. The union claims that nurses at Pottstown are being asked to take on more work for lower compensation compared to colleagues at other Tower Health facilities, according to the report.
The picket will echo similar actions taken by the union in 2018 as contract negotiations continue.
