Fairview laying off over 400 employees at St. Joseph's, Bethesda

(FOX 9) - M Health Fairview is laying off more than 400 employees between two of its hospitals in St. Paul, Minnesota—Bethesda and St. Joseph’s.

Fairview notified the state Department of Employment and Economic Development this week of its intention to permanently lay off 268 employees at St. Joseph’s and 179 at Bethesda. The layoffs are among the 900 jobs Fairview said it was cutting as part of changes it is making across its health system.

Fairview to cut 900 jobs, convert Bethesda to homeless shelter

Fairview plans to cut 900 jobs and convert Bethesda to a homeless shelter, transferring the patients in the hospital’s COVID-19 unit to the nearby St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Bethesda Hospital, which is currently being used as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, is going to be leased by Ramsey County this winter and converted into a shelter for people experiencing homelessness, according to Fairview. Bethesda’s COVID-19 patients will be transferred to a COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph’s.

However, while St. Joseph’s will continue providing COVID-19 care and mental health services through the end of next year, most of its other hospital services will move to other hospital locations within the Fairview system by the end of 2020. St. Joseph’s emergency room will also discontinue services.

Layoffs at both hospitals will begin in December. Fairview said it hopes to fill as many of its open positions as it can with employees affected by the layoffs.