Columbus-based OhioHealth is shutting down the emergency department at its medical facility in Nelsonville, Ohio, earlier than previously announced as the area transitions to urgent care, according to The Athens NEWS.
Here are five things to know about the transition.
1. OhioHealth had planned to keep the ED open until the new OhioHealth Nelsonville Health Center is built and opens in the fall of 2016.
2. However, due to the continuing decrease in patient volume, and the decrease in patients who need full-service ED care when urgent care would be the better option, OhioHealth has decided to transition earlier, said Mark Seckinger, president of OhioHealth O'Bleness Hospital in Athens, Ohio, and the Nelsonville facility, according to the report.
3. Instead of waiting until next fall, OhioHealth will now open a new urgent care center in Nelsonville on Jan. 6, 2016, prompting an earlier closure of the ED.
4. The closing of the ED will result in the planned elimination of 38 job positions, some of which are part-time or filled as needed, as well as the elimination of emergency services at OhioHealth Nelsonville Medical and Emergency Services, according to The Athens NEWS.
5. OhioHealth plans to work with employees whose positions will be eliminated to find "new or cross-campus roles" for the employees.