St. Thomas cuts 150 hospital jobs in Nashville - WSMV Channel 4

Two hospitals in Nashville are cutting 150 positions to save costs.

Saint Thomas Health System spokeswoman Rebecca Climer said about two-thirds of the positions are at Saint Thomas Hospital. The rest are at Baptist Hospital, where a fitness and wellness center is closing.

She said most of the positions won't require layoffs because they were unfilled. "We are consistently looking at ways to reduce costs and improve our utilization of resources. This frequently does result in redirecting resources, including positions," Climer said.

The Saint Thomas system employs nearly 6,500 people.

Climer said all support areas of the hospitals were affected by what she called a response to the fast-changing health care environment.

"While we continuously make adjustments to our services and human resources, occasionally the rate of change outpaces our ability to respond by small scale changes," she said.

Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.