Less than a week after Southern New Hampshire Medical Center announced 100 layoffs, administrators at St. Joseph Hospital revealed today plans to close two subsidiary companies, Rockingham Regional Ambulance, Inc. and Granite State Mediquip, Inc., which could affect more than 10 percent of the hospital's workforce. The closings, to take effect this fall, come as the result of state budget cuts, which have left the hospital facing $19 million in losses over the next two years, according to David Ross, St. Joseph's chief executive officer. St. Joseph, which employs about 1,500 full-time workers, joined Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and eight other hospitals last week in filing a lawsuit against state officials over their plan to use Medicare reimbursements to balance the state budget.
