Billy Joel sang “we're living here in Allentown,” but fewer Allentown residents may be living anywhere if an Eastern Pennsylvania hospital can’t keep its doors open. <br /><br />Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown let go 76 employees, or five percent of its work force, in a bid to cut operating losses. <br />39 open positions have been eliminated, and dozens of employees are having their work hours reduced. <br />Spokesperson Valerie Downing says the layoffs will save the hospital about $5.7 million a year. Sacred Heart had $6.3 million in operating losses in its last fiscal year, the fifth consecutive year of operating losses. <br />Allentown, Pennsylvania has seen many of its major industrial businesses disappear over the last 20 years. The city contains the corporate headquarters for several global companies, such as Mack Trucks.
