GRANDVIEW -- Two medical practices in Grandview owned by Sunnyside Community Hospital will merge next month.

Birch Street Medical Center will close and merge with Grandview Medical Center some time in early February.

Hospital administrators, still working out details, have not decided how many people will be laid off, said Tom Lathen, a hospital spokesman.

The uncertainty of state and federal funding prompted the decision, CEO Jon Smiley told employees in a hospital newsletter released Friday.

Earlier this month, the hospital laid off nine employees, imposed a 4.5 percent pay cut for almost all 400 employees and froze all contributions to employee retirement programs.

In November, Prosser's public PMH Medical Center laid off 13 employees and eliminated two vacant positions.