Patients seeking surgical and obstetrics services at Rosebud (S.D.) Indian Health Service Hospital are being diverted to other facilities following the death of a key staff clinician over the weekend.
In a statement Monday, IHS said it is exploring ways to staff these departments so the hospital can resume surgical and obstetrics services as quickly as possible. In the meantime, patients are being diverted to Cherry County Hospital in Valentine, Neb., Bennet County Hospital in Martin, S.D., and Winner (S.D.) Regional Hospital, all of which are more than 40 miles away from Rosebud.
These service cuts come as the hospital has operated without an emergency department for six months. The hospital shuttered the ED after CMS discovered a number of deficiencies at the facility, such as hospital staff hand washing surgical instruments for months while a sterilizer was broken.
With the Rosebud hospital's surgical and obstetrics departments closed, IHS said additional resources will be focused toward improving outpatient primary care services and reopening the ED.
Urgent care services and other inpatient and outpatient hospital services remain available at the Rosebud hospital, according to the IHS.
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