"Given all that, it was decided this was the best possible outcome, given it was clear the hospital couldn't continue in its current form," the spokesman said.
Nonetheless, the fate of the hospital's 900-odd employees is uncertain, as the outpatient center is not expected to hire them all.
"Technically, as employees of North General Hospital, they will be laid off," the spokesman said. "A decent proportion - obviously things are still in flux - will be able to find employment with the new health care providers, and the hospital will be taking steps to provide every sort of support they can in terms of placement programs and reaching out to other New York health care providers within the area."
In an effort to fight for its members, the hospital's union, Local 1199 S.E.I.U., has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the institute on the grounds that refusal to hire all of the union's employees is a violation of federal labor law. According to the union's general counsel, federal labor law prohibits a successor employer from refusing to hire union members because it does not want to recognize the union, which is what the union claims the institute is doing.
In a statement e-mailed to DOTmed News, the institute said that the new health center's staff will include former North General employees who "meet requirements of the new positions." Interviews began Monday for "existing" North General staff who chose to apply for positions at the new center.
The institute did not return calls regarding employment specifics, including the charges filed by the union.
The union will try to find employment for its members, but spokeswoman Leah Gonzalez says it's going to be very difficult, as fewer and fewer hospitals are hiring.
With its closing, North General, founded in 1979 by Eugene McCabe and Randolph Guggenheimer, expects much of its medical equipment to be re-purposed for new services.
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