The conversion of Suburban Community Hospital in East Norriton, owned by Prime Healthcare Foundation, into a micro-hospital will become official on Tuesday, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The move has sparked concerns from the largest union of nurses in the region.

The medical center in central Montgomery County will now have a 24/7 emergency department with 60 licensed beds. If necessary, the hospital will increase that bed count, according to its officials. Prior to the change, the hospital had 127 beds.

Suburban Community previously shut down its behavioral health unit and will now end its surgical services and shutter the intensive care unit.

The new model will see most of the admissions come through the micro-hospital’s emergency department.

The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals is organizing a protest outside the hospital on Wednesday. According to the union, the move will result in huge layoffs and impede access to care.

The move is “effectively closing an 80-year-old institution in a medically needy area, killing health care jobs in Montgomery County, and endangering lives,” said Terena Stinson, a Suburban Community Emergency Department Nurse and Co-President of the Suburban Nurses Association.

Read more about Suburban Community Hospital in the Philadelphia Business Journal.