St. Clare's Health System, a Denville, N.J.-based division of Catholic Health Initiatives, filed plans with the state to close inpatient services at the Sussex, N.J., campus of 427-bed St. Clare's Hospital.

St. Clare's officials expect 55 workers will have their jobs cut or changed under the plan, St. Clare's President and CEO Leslie Hirsch said.

Officials will seek to place workers elsewhere in the system, he said. The campus employs 167. An emergency department and outpatient surgery and diagnostic services would continue to operate after inpatient services stop. New Jersey will review the proposed closure and a certificate of need is expected to take six to eight months, a spokeswoman said. Hirsch said that the system's Englewood, Colo.-based parent evaluated the hospital's options. A drop in demand at the campus prompted the decision, Hirsch said. On an average day, the hospital had a dozen patients, and admissions dropped 21% in fiscal 2011 from the prior year. Until the state decides on the CON, inpatient services will continue, Hirsch said.

“The status quo is not sustainable for the long run, but certainly as we wait for the state review and decision on our application we will continue to maintain our services as we have,” he said.