TOWANDA, Pa. (WETM) – Guthrie will be eliminating surgeries at Guthrie Towanda Memorial Hospital and merging under the license of Robert Packer Hospital, according to a release issued by Guthrie on Friday.

Most current services will remain at the Towanda location, including the Emergency Department, Imaging Services, Lab Services, Outpatient Rehabilitation Personal Care Home and Skilled Nursing Facility, and Ambulance Services.

About 50 employees from the OR and Med Surg Unit will be impacted and will no longer be based at the Towanda location, but Guthrie says most will have opportunities to be hired at other Guthrie facilities in Sayre or Troy.

“Eliminating surgery at Guthrie Towanda Memorial Hospital allows us to more efficiently use available resources within the larger system and to support Guthrie’s overall surgery program,” said Paul VerValin, Chief Operating Officer at Guthrie.

Guthrie plans for the transition to be completed by January 2021, pending all regulatory approvals, but says that some changes have already begun.