Radius Specialty Hospital laying off 350 workers

Radius Specialty Hospital is closing its rehabilitation facilities, laying off about 350 workers in Quincy and Roxbury.

The company said it doesn’t have enough patients or money to continue operating. Radius has a 38-bed facility in Quincy and 84 beds in Roxbury.

In a letter to union representatives, Radius’s human resources director, Christine Bresnahan, said layoffs would start immediately and be completed by Oct. 7.

“All employees will be laid off and each entire worksite will be closed permanently,” the letter said.

Stewart Grossman, a lawyer for privately held Radius, said the company filed a formal plan with the state Department of Public Health on Tuesday that gave notice of its intention to close. He said it would take at least 30 days to transfer the Radius patients to other rehabilitation facilities.

Radius bought the Roxbury site, the former Jewish Memorial Hospital, in 2006, but it has never been profitable, Grossman said. The Quincy hospital, which was housed at Quincy Medical Center, had been a stronger business — until recently.

That changed on Aug. 11, when its principal referring hospital, South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, told Radius that it would no longer refer patients, Grossman said.

“That made it impossible to both operate facilities and pay bills,” he said.

But Sarah Darcy, a spokeswoman for South Shore Hospital, said South Shore did not stop referrals. “That’s inaccurate,” she said. “Up until today, we sent patients.”

South Shore Hospital refers patients to “a multitude” of other rehabilitation facilities, depending on the type of care they need, she added. South Shore Hospital is trying to merge with Partners HealthCare, the state’s largest health system, which includes Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, a string of rehabilitation facilities with its main campus in Charlestown.

The deal is awaiting court approval.

Radius offered the two long-term acute care centers, which serve patients who require assistance after being discharged from intensive care units.

After its recent drop in patient volume, the company’s bank accelerated the repayment of loans, and last week, the bank “seized substantial funds, leaving the hospital with insufficient funds to continue to operate,” according to Bresnahan’s letter.