Laid off from Universal Health Services.
Universal Health Services' layoffs on record have arrived one facility at a time, and both 2026 rounds came within weeks of a regulator acting. Laurel Ridge in San Antonio filed notice on 648 jobs after CMS moved to cut off its Medicare and Medicaid payments, and Provo Canyon School's 303-worker notice landed between Utah's two license revocations.
At a glance
What's known about Universal Health Services severance and layoffs
- 2 filings, 951 jobs, Texas and Utah · UHS WARN filings since 2025, our tracker
- 648 jobs, Laurel Ridge, San Antonio, April 2026 · Largest UHS notice since 2025
- 648 of 659 · Laurel Ridge employees in the 2026 layoff
- 303 workers, Provo and Springville · Provo Canyon School WARN notice, July 2026
- Not eligible for rehire within the company · Laurel Ridge rehire eligibility, as KSAT reported
- More than 101,500 people · UHS workforce, August 2026
Recent Universal Health Services layoffs
Universal Health Services' Provo Canyon School filed a 303-worker notice in July 2026
Utah's WARN list shows a July 9, 2026 notice from Provo Canyon School, a UHS-owned residential treatment program, covering 303 workers in Provo and Springville. Utah pulled the Springville campus license on July 6 and the Provo campus license on July 17, ordering all services stopped by August 16.
Previous rounds
Universal Health Services layoff history
It's a hard thing to lose a job at a hospital or school that's in the news for all the wrong reasons, and both of UHS's 2026 rounds on record followed a regulator's move by days or weeks. Our tracker counts 2 filings covering 951 jobs since the start of 2025 from Texas and Utah, and both carry 2026 dates. Laurel Ridge Treatment Center in San Antonio filed for 648 on April 27, and Provo Canyon School's notice for 303 in Provo and Springville followed on July 9. UHS put its own headcount at more than 101,500 in August 2026.
Laurel Ridge's sequence is on the record. CMS told the 330-bed psychiatric hospital on April 15 that federal payments would stop for services from April 30, citing its failure to comply with health and safety requirements. The hospital sued on April 23 and lost its bid for emergency relief on April 28. In between, staff got a letter laying off 648 of its 659 employees effective June 26. UHS drew the connection itself, with a spokesperson saying, "As a result of this regulatory action, we must implement a workforce reduction." The lawsuit had warned that closing would cost about $48.5 million in annual payroll, yet by late April the head of a regional health care coordinating group told county commissioners the hospital planned to stay open with a very small unit while it fought the determination.
Provo Canyon School's notice sits between two state orders. Utah revoked the license of its Springville girls' campus on July 6, finding it failed to protect a client from harm and that staff used unnecessary restraint, and the state's WARN list shows the 303-worker notice three days later. On July 17 the state revoked the Provo campus license too, ordering all services stopped by August 16. The school's quoted statements that month addressed the licensing decisions and a possible appeal. Nothing in the reporting we track mentions pay or benefits for the 303 workers.
UHS has shut troubled psychiatric sites before. Timberlawn in Dallas said it would close a week after the state threatened to shut it down in January 2018, though its chief executive said the owners had decided in December, and it set February 16 as its last day of psychiatric services. The Dallas Morning News reported then that UHS had closed two adolescent residential treatment centers facing regulatory sanctions, in Virginia and Illinois, since 2012. Desert Springs Hospital leadership gave other reasons for its 2023 cuts. In January of that year the Las Vegas hospital told 970 employees they were affected as it moved to end inpatient care, and leadership cited an aging building, costly renovations, labor shortages and inflation.
What one campus offered didn't carry to the next, so read your own letter line by line. Desert Springs' CEO pointed staff to open positions across UHS's Valley Health System in 2023, while the Laurel Ridge letter, as KSAT reported, made laid-off staff ineligible for rehire within the company. If you want a job at another UHS facility, get HR to say in writing whether that bar reaches past your hospital. Then check your dates. Under federal WARN, a qualifying layoff or closing generally has to be announced in writing 60 days ahead, with exceptions, and a covered worker shorted on notice can try to recover back pay and benefits for the gap, capped at 60 days. Laurel Ridge's notice ran from April 27 to June 26. If your own last day came sooner than 60 days after your notice, keep both dates handy before you sign anything HR gives you.
Reporting on previous Universal Health Services layoff rounds
July 2026, Provo Canyon School, Utah · 303 workers on Utah's WARN list, in a notice dated July 9 listing Provo and Springville, between the state's July 6 Springville and July 17 Provo license revocations
Utah's list gives no terms, and the school's quoted July statements addressed the licensing decisions and a possible appeal.
April 2026, Laurel Ridge Treatment Center, San Antonio · 648 of 659 employees, effective June 26, after CMS moved to end federal payments for services from April 30
Career fairs and other support resources, per UHS. The staff letter, as KSAT reported, made laid-off employees ineligible for rehire within the company.
January 2023, Desert Springs Hospital, Las Vegas · 970 employees affected as inpatient care ended, with layoffs set between March 11 and March 25
The CEO's notice pointed staff to open positions within UHS's Valley Health System, and the hospital scheduled on-site job fairs with its sister hospitals.
What to do after being laid off from Universal Health Services
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Universal Health Services's biggest hubs: Texas, Utah, Nevada. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Universal Health Services's hub states run: Texas, Utah, Nevada, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
Universal Health Services layoff and severance questions
Is Universal Health Services laying off workers in 2026?
Our tracker shows 2 Universal Health Services filings covering 951 jobs in 2026, in Texas and Utah. Laurel Ridge Treatment Center in San Antonio filed for 648 on April 27, after CMS said its federal payments would stop from April 30. Provo Canyon School's notice for 303 in Provo and Springville is dated July 9, between Utah's two license revocations.
Why did Laurel Ridge lay off 648 employees?
CMS told the San Antonio psychiatric hospital on April 15, 2026 that federal payments would stop for services from April 30, citing its failure to comply with health and safety requirements. A UHS spokesperson told Behavioral Health Business, "As a result of this regulatory action, we must implement a workforce reduction." The hospital sued to stop the cutoff, and a federal judge denied emergency relief on April 28.
Did Laurel Ridge Treatment Center close?
Nothing in the reporting we track confirms a closure. The lawsuit warned the termination would effectively shutter the hospital, but in late April 2026 the CEO of a regional health care coordinating group told Bexar County commissioners the hospital planned to stay open with a very small unit, cutting from about 86 patients to between 20 and 40.
Can laid-off UHS workers get rehired at another UHS hospital?
It has varied by site. When Desert Springs Hospital in Las Vegas moved to end inpatient care in 2023, its CEO's notice pointed staff to open positions across UHS's Valley Health System. The 2026 Laurel Ridge letter, as KSAT reported, said laid-off staff weren't eligible for rehire within that company, and KSAT's account doesn't say whether that means Laurel Ridge alone or UHS as a whole. Ask HR to answer that for your letter in writing.
Does UHS pay severance to laid-off employees?
Neither UHS's Laurel Ridge statement, which named career fairs and support resources, nor the Desert Springs notice, which named job fairs and open positions, describes a severance payment. If your notice ran short, federal WARN may matter more. The Labor Department's worker guide says a covered worker given less than the required 60 days' written notice may be able to pursue back wages and benefits for the days it fell short, up to 60, and the rule has exceptions.
Why did Utah revoke Provo Canyon School's licenses?
Utah revoked the Springville girls' campus license on July 6, 2026, finding the campus failed to protect a client from harm, and revoked the Provo campus license on July 17. All services had to stop by August 16. The school said it disagreed and was weighing an appeal, and Utah's licensing director said the owners can't apply for a new license for at least five years.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Universal Health Services?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Universal Health Services's biggest U.S. hubs are Texas, Utah, Nevada. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Universal Health Services?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Universal Health Services?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Universal Health Services?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.