North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale intends to eliminate about 200 positions during the next few months, hospital spokesman Robert Prevost confirmed Monday.

Prevost said that the hospital informed employees last month through an internal message that it “needs to realign resources.” The hospital is focused on eliminating positions by “not filling open positions and reducing hours when appropriate,” Prevost said, but he acknowledged that some layoffs may also take place if necessary.

According to Prevost, North Memorial is not targeting specific occupation types or departments for the cuts.

North Memorial's announcement comes less than one month after Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota said that it intends to eliminate between 200 and 250 jobs by mid-November.

North Memorial Health Care-the parent company that operates North Memorial Medical Center and owns a 75 percent stake in the new Maple Grove Hospital-reported a decrease in patient revenue and an overall operating loss of $12.1 million for the quarter that ended June 30.

The company employs about 5,000 people, the majority of whom work at North Memorial Medical Center.

North Memorial attributes its revenue shortfall to a growing proportion of patients with Medicare and Medicaid insurance being treated at the hospital.

Children's also cited an increasing number of patients who rely on government programs, stating that it lost approximately $43 million last year by treating patients who depend on Medicaid.

North Memorial is undergoing other significant changes, as well. Earlier this month, North Memorial president and CEO David W. Cress was suspended indefinitely after he was arrested in a prostitution bust for which he now faces a misdemeanor prostitution charge.

One day after Cress' arrest, North Memorial's board appointed Loren (“Larry”) Taylor-who has served as board chairman since 2000-as interim CEO.

North Memorial Medical Center is Robbinsdale-based North Memorial Health Care's flagship hospital. It is the seventh-largest hospital in Minnesota based on its number of available beds.