MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ Citing budget problems, Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan is eliminating 61 jobs and shutting down
two units.

Hospital President and CEO Richard Allen said increased competition, poor reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid and more uninsured and underinsured patients led to the restructuring. He said the hospital had been running on a break-even basis for several months.

Twenty of the 61 full- and part-time positions are already vacant and will not be filled. Several non-bedside jobs were eliminated, including some management positions.

The reduction includes the closure of the hospital's Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit and the Specialty Care Clinic, a program that focuses on wound care management.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)