Mercy Hospital in Portland announced it will lay off 58 employees as part of an effort to shift its health care model.

Mercy Hospital President and CEO Eileen Skinner said the affected employees will be encouraged to apply for jobs in other departments at Mercy that are experiencing growth, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Skinner told MPBN that severance packages will be offered to employees who are not hired for new positions at the hospital. She also says the decision to cut jobs was made after the hospital had monitored patient volume since October and concluded that efforts to control expenses were not enough to offset losses in some areas, according to MPBN.

It's the latest announcement of layoffs at Maine hospitals. Eastern Maine Medical in Bangor said earlier this month that it will lay off 50 employees, including 23 nurses, and in February, Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockland said it would eliminate 10 positions and reduce hours for seven other employees.

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