MVHS to close ambulatory-surgery service at Faxton campus, affecting 44 employees

UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) is closing its outpatient-surgical services at its Faxton campus.

The move means 44 full and part-time employees will lose their current jobs, according to a news release issued Friday. The health-care organization said it is working to find them other positions in its system.

In explaining the closure, MVHS cited “a decrease in the number of outpatient surgeries/procedures performed at its campus locations due to the opening of free-standing ambulatory surgical centers in the area.”

MVHS currently provides ambulatory surgery at three campus locations: Faxton, St. Luke’s, and St. Elizabeth.

“In recent years, the ambulatory-surgery center at the Faxton campus has limited its outpatient-surgery schedule to just three days a week,” Robert Scholefield, executive VP/chief operating officer at MVHS, said in the release. “We have not needed to use the facility full-time. Even with this change, we will continue to meet the surgical needs of our community by providing ongoing inpatient and outpatient surgery at our two main campuses, St. Luke’s and St. Elizabeth.”

MVHS is working on a transition plan for the 44 full and part-time employees at the Faxton campus that will be impacted by the change. “We will do all we can to help transition them to another role within the system,” Scholefield said.

MVHS estimates the transition will take between three months and six months.

Doctors performed nearly 1,800 outpatient surgeries in 2017 at the Faxton campus including eye; pediatric orthopedics; general orthopedics; dental (pediatric and adult); gynecology; general surgery; and ear, nose, and throat procedures, MVHS said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com