Layoffs at Pottstown Hospital are raising new concerns about access to medical care in western Montgomery County, writes Jim Melwert for KYW Newsradio.
The cuts are part of a 350-person reduction across Tower Health’s network. They have left local lawmakers questioning the future of the Pottstown facility.
State Senator Tracy Pennycuick and Rep. Joe Ciresi said they’ve been in ongoing talks with Tower Health for months and were caught off guard by the layoffs. “They renegotiated their contract with the nurses in June, so that kind of gave us some hope,” Pennycuick said. “Then the reports came out that overall Tower was in the black. So we kind of took it as, ‘hey, things are looking up.’”
The move follows several years of cutbacks, including the 2020 closure of Pottstown Hospital’s maternity unit. Pennycuick warned that residents may now need to travel 20 to 30 minutes to Tower-owned Phoenixville or Reading for essential care. “I don’t want to see a health care desert in Pottstown,” she said.
Tower Health says the layoffs aim to cut annual losses of roughly $40 million in half, allowing for “strategic reinvestment” in “the pillars that power our future.”
To learn more about Pottstown’s cuts and the impact on the community, visit Audacy.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on MONTCO.Today in November 2025.
