Lifetime Health Medical Group plans to cut 500 jobs from its Western New York primary care offices, according to a Democrat and Chronicle report.
All of Lifetime's nine locations, which consist of six offices in the Rochester area and three in Buffalo, are eliminating or transitioning positions by Dec. 31, with several separations delayed until March or April 2018, according to state filings.
Rochester-based Regional Health and UR Medicine will take ownership of Lifetime's Rochester area medical offices by Jan. 1, pending approval from the New York State Health Department.
Lifetime's Rochester area offices listed around 300 job eliminations. However, the new owners offered positions for 200 of those employees, who are mainly providers and clinical staff, said Stacy VanBlarcom, communications manager at Lifetime Health. After the change in ownership, most providers will continue to see patients at the same locations in Rochester.
The medical group will lay off around 200 employees at its Buffalo area locations, as all three will close on Dec. 21, according to a statement on Lifetime's website. The Buffalo practices closed after the medical group struggled with a shortage of primary care physicians in Western New York, according to The Buffalo News.