SHAME ON TOWER HEALTH
THE IMPENDING SERVICE LINE CUTS AT POTTSTOWN HOSPITAL WILL DEVASTATE PATIENT CARE AND THE COMMUNITY THAT DEPENDS ON THIS HOSPITAL
The Nurses of Pottstown Hospital Are Sounding the Alarm
Pottstown Hospital owner Tower Health announced alarming service line cuts and massive layoffs on Friday, November 7th, in an infuriatingly tone deaf, pro forma email to the staff. Effective January 16, 2026, entire departments – including the Intensive Care Unit, the Cancer Center, the Outpatient Endoscopy Suite, the Float Pool, and the 2nd Floor Med/Surg Step Down Unit – will be eliminated and essential caregivers will be laid off in a devastating blow to the Pottstown community and to the nurses and healthcare professionals who have dedicated their lives to caring for it.
The announced service line cuts aren’t just lines on a balance sheet — they represent the absolute gutting of essential hospital services that local families depend on to stay healthy and safe, and will imperil patients who have relied on these services for more than 100 years.
“At a time when communities need more access to care, not less, slashing services and laying off skilled caregivers isn’t just reckless, it’s cruel,” says President Maureen May, RN, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), which represents 275 frontline nurses at Pottstown Hospital, a significant percentage of whom will be affected by the planned cuts. “These service cuts will deepen healthcare disparities, force patients to travel farther for essential treatment, and leave caregivers and families in crisis. This community deserves better.”
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Tower Health has repeatedly put their own profits over the people of Pottstown. In 2023, their financial practices drew scrutiny from the Pennsylvania Attorney General for potential violations of the hospital’s nonprofit status. Instead of paying their fair share of taxes — which would have supported local schools — Tower successfully challenged the change, costing the Pottstown School District roughly $1 million. That same year, Tower paid hundreds of thousands, even millions, to former C-suite executives, including $1.4 million to former President Clint Matthews and $1.8 million to former EVP Therese Sucher.
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Now, Tower is slashing essential services at Pottstown Hospital, and once again, the Pottstown community is left paying the price.
PASNAP calls on hospital leadership to immediately halt the planned layoffs and engage in good-faith discussions with the Union to explore alternatives that preserve essential services, protect jobs, and safeguard patient care.
“Our members will not stand by silently as this hospital turns its back on the people it exists to serve,” said May. “We will fight — alongside our community — to keep critical care in Pottstown.”
TOWER HEALTH: A BAD ACTOR IN THE COMMUNITY
The spending practices of Pottstown Hospital’s owner, Tower Health, captured the attention of the Pennsylvania Attorney General for potential violations of the hospital’s nonprofit status. Despite the state’s attempt to push Tower to pay their fair share of taxes, Tower challenged the change and will not be paying taxes at a cost of roughly $1,000,000 to the Pottstown School District budget. As a result, the Union nurses of Pottstown Nurses United will be contributing much much more to the school district through their taxes than their employer.
While Tower Health has nickled and dimed the Pottstown community:
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They have spent AT LEAST $400,000 on Union busting consultants over four months in 2023/2024 to destroy the service workers’ Union at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (according to their LM10s) and, following that, at Pottstown Hospital, where Tower brought in an estimated 5 to 6 union busters, and paid them somewhere between $2,500 - $3,500 PER DAY PER PERSON (+expenses).
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And per their 2023 990, they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to former C-suite executives: former President Clint Matthews got paid $1.4 million, former EVP Therese Sucher got paid $1.8 million; former CEOs John Cacciamani and Stephen Tullman got paid ~$500,000; former Treasurer Sean O’Connell got paid ~$100,000, and former EVP Gary Conner got paid ~$100,000.
COMMUNITY PETITION:
TO PROTECT POTTSTOWN HOSPITAL AND THE HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY
Pottstown Hospital is not just a building — it is a lifeline. For decades, our community has relied on its dedicated nurses, doctors, and caregivers for timely, life-saving care. But today, that lifeline is being cut. Tower Health has announced sweeping reductions at Pottstown Hospital. Help us fight to save our essential services!
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