Nurses at Mee Memorial Hospital to hold vigil in response to layoffs

Porfirio Montoya has worked as a registered nurse at Mee Memorial Hospital in King City or the past four years. On Friday, he said he enters an uncertain future. He said this is a result of the layoffs that took more than 8% of the hospital’s staff. “These are members of the community. People who live here in King City and Greenfield. People who have families to support. They’ll now have to seek jobs in other hospitals or industries. It’s going to be a huge challenge,” said Montoya.

Montoya said this will also be a challenge for hospital staff left behind. He said he and his colleagues will be required to work in areas beyond their experience. “Not only is it going to fall on the shoulders of the registered nurses, but it’s going to be a poor outcome at the very end,” said Montoya.

Mee Memorial Hospital CEO, Michael Hutchinson, said the layoffs were necessary to maintain the hospital’s financial health. In a press release he said, “As hard as it is to make a change like this, it is what is in the best interest of the organization to ensure the future of Mee Memorial as a vital service to the community.”

Montoya fears the layoffs are not over. “There are still services that are being looked at for cutting. This hospital, in my opinion, is destined to fail if we don’t get the opportunity to be a part of that conversation,” said Montoya.

The conversation happens Monday night. Nurses plan to hold a candlelight vigil at the hospital from 6-8 p.m. They hope sound an alarm about the direction they fear the hospital is headed. “We are advocates for the community. We are advocates for our patients. If we don’t step up I don’t know who else will,” said Montoya.

Mee Memorial Hospital has yet to respond to our request regarding rumors of additional layoffs.