OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg, Ill., hired nearly 70 employees from the closed Galesburg Cottage Hospital, St. Mary confirmed to Becker's on May 10.
Cottage Hospital closed in January. In April, Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, which includes St. Mary, completed its purchase of the real estate, medical equipment and other assets of the closed Cottage Hospital for $4 million.
OSF HealthCare spokesperson Lee Batsakis said the employees hired following the closure serve in various roles across all operations at St. Mary but primarily are in nursing.
"We are thrilled to have them join us as OSF St. Mary continues to grow and serve Galesburg as the sole community provider," she said.
Overall, the new hires represent a 15 percent to 20 percent increase of St. Mary's staff, hospital President Liza DeKezel, BSN, RN, told The Register-Mail.
In addition to the new hires, St. Mary is slated to open the OSF OnCall Urgent Care in the Galesburg area this fall.
The location will provide walk-in services to "help patients access care at the right point of care versus accessing the ER for those types of services that can be served in the prompt care or urgent care," Ms. DeKezel said, according to The Register-Mail.
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