For many financially troubled hospitals and health systems, 2014 has been a deciding year. Numerous acute-care hospitals and health systems have filed for bankruptcy protection, closed or announced upcoming shut downs. Becker's Hospital Review has covered the following instances of such, listed here and starting with the most recent.
1. Indiana University Health announced last week that it will close its proton therapy center and IU Cyclotron facility once its roster of patients have completed treatment, which is expected no later than the end of this year.
2. Cleveland (Texas) Regional Medical Center closed its doors in late August after struggling for years to remain open, according to a Cleveland Advocate report. Signs were posted on the entrance doors telling patrons to seek medical care at the next closest facility and ambulances are being diverted to other area hospitals, including those in Humble and Kingwood, Texas.
3. West Memphis, Ark.-based Crittenden Regional Hospital stopped accepting new patients in late August and will close permanently Sept. 7.
4. Columbia-based University of Missouri Health Care announced in August that it plans to close its rehabilitation center in Mt. Vernon on Oct. 31.
5. Monroe Hospital in Bloomington, Ind., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month and shared plans to sell off its assets.
6. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' hospitals Haywood Park Community Hospital in Brownsville, Tenn. and Mid-Valley Hospital in Peckville, Pa., ceased offering inpatient and emergency department services in July. Haywood transitioned into an urgent care facility while Mid-Valley opened as an outpatient center.
7. Doctors Hospital Nelsonville (Ohio), part of Columbus-based OhioHealth, announced in July that it will close as soon as the system builds and opens a new outpatient facility in Nelsonville. In the meantime, the hospital's emergency room will remains open, and it continues to offer outpatient services.
8. Vidant Pungo Hospital in Belhaven, N.C., closed July 1 after facing financial trouble for quite some time. Vidant announced it would open a 24/7 clinic in its place, a move that was recently halted when the Town of Belhaven denied the building plans and revoked the building permit, according to a WNCT 9 report.
9. Huey P. Long Medical Center in Pineville, La., closed at the end of June. It was the final piece of the mass privatization of LSU's hospital system.
10. In late May, Portsmouth, N.H.-based Specialty Hospitals of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold two of its hospitals in Washington, D.C., to investment firm Silver Point Capital, based in Greenwich, Conn.
11. Nicholas County Hospital, an 18-bed critical access hospital in Carlisle, Ky., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed in May.
12. Palm Drive Hospital, a financially troubled facility in Sebastopol, Calif., closed its doors late in April after filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy earlier that month.
13. Lake Whitney (Texas) Medical Center decided to close its doors in early April after roughly a year of financial troubles and botched takeovers.
14. Northern Berkshire Healthcare in North Adams, Mass., closed North Adams Regional Hospital, its home health facility and its three hospital-owned physician practices in March, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in early April.
15. Lower Oconee Community Hospital in Glenwood, Ga., closed its doors in mid-February, but a private healthcare company bought and reopened the hospital by the beginning of March.
16. Natchez (Miss.) Regional Medical Center filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy for the second time in the past five years.
17. Long Beach (N.Y.) Medical Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February and sold all assets to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y.
18. Good Shepherd Health System, based in Longview, Texas, closed Good Shepherd Medical Center Linden (Texas) earlier this year.
19. Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital declared bankruptcy in February due to several lingering financial problems.
20. Casa Grande (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, a maneuver executives said was needed to complete its sale to Phoenix-based Banner Health.