On Friday, the Chief Executive of Miami's Public Health Care System, Eneida Roldan declared that it might have to close down two of its five hospitals because of shortage of funds, leading to 4,487 people losing their jobs.

She said that 1,000 jobs would be removed from the main hospital, Jackson Memorial, and shutting down of Jackson South and Jackson North would lead to more staff getting unemployed. The closing would result in loss of 581 acute-care beds.

Brian E. Keeley, Chief Executive of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest private hospital organization in the county, said that the closings would be "a community disaster".

With 2,200 beds and 12,000 employees, Jackson is the biggest public health care supplier in the region. This year, it showed a budget deficit of $229 million.

"As a community", added Keeley, "we need to step up to help provide a safety net".

President of the Union, Martha Baker said, "It is better to focus on operational changes than these totally inappropriate slash-and-burn cuts".