More than a dozen hospitals are scaling back services for a variety of reasons, including financial challenges and staffing issues.
1. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, part of Sisters of Charity Health System, will end inpatient and emergency department care in November and transition into an ambulatory care provider. Sisters of Charity Health System President and CEO Janice Murphy said the hospital is facing financial pressure, and the reduction in services will put the facility on a path toward a more stable financial position.
2. Wellstar Health System is closing the emergency department at Atlanta Medical Center Oct. 14 before the hospital shuts down Nov. 1.
3. Community Hospital North in Indianapolis, part of Community Health Network, will end inpatient pediatric and pediatric intensive care unit services by Oct. 28. The hospital cited evolving care demands as the reasoning behind the move.
4. Merit Health Central in Jackson, Miss., plans to close the state's only burn center on Oct. 14. Merit Health Central pointed to difficulty recruiting specialists as the reason for closing the burn center.
5. Davis Regional Medical, a 146-bed hospital in Statesville, N.C., will eliminate most patient services, including acute inpatient care, by the end of the year as it transitions to a specialty hospital focused on inpatient behavioral healthcare.
6. Froedtert Kenosha (Wis.) Hospital closed its emergency department and shifted acute inpatient services to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie (Wis.) Hospital. The Kenosha facility's ED was converted into an urgent care center.
7. Carthage, Ill.-based Memorial Hospital will close its labor and delivery unit in December. The unit requires trained labor and delivery nurses to be present even when there are no patients, which is unsustainable with the hospital's limited nursing staff, officials said.
8. Salt Lake Regional Medical Center closed its maternity ward Sept. 1. The hospital, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, attributed the closure to low patient demand.
9. FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Ill., ended inpatient pediatric services Oct. 3. Hospital officials said the need for inpatient pediatric services has declined in recent years.
10. Cape May Court House, N.J.-based Cape Regional Medical Center ended maternity and obstetric services Sept. 10 due to a lack of physicians.
11. St. Louis-based Ascension is closing St. Vincent Dunn in Bedford, Ind., and all Lawrence County (Ind.) Ascension Medical Group practices in December.
12. Cleveland-based University Hospitals is ending labor and delivery services at UH Portage Medical Center Ravenna, Ohio, in November. The decision to end those services was attributed to persistent workforce shortages and declining volumes.
13. Palomar Medical Center in Poway, Calif., will close its 17-bed geriatric psychiatric space on or before Oct. 31.
14. Grand Blanc, Mich.-based Ascension Genesys Hospital ended inpatient pediatric care. The hospital's decision was made based on a decline in pediatric inpatient care numbers, difficulty providing different types and levels of treatment, and close proximity with other facilities offering the same care in the area.
15. Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Va., will close its neonatal intensive care unit on Nov. 1.
16. Springfield, Pa.-based Crozer Health announced plans in September to end inpatient acute care at Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, Pa., and Springfield (Pa.) Hospital.
17. Mayo Clinic Health System is ending labor and delivery services at its hospitals in Barron and Menomonie, Wis. The health system said those services are transitioning from Mayo Clinic Health System-Northland in Barron and Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Cedar in Menomonie to Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis. The transition from Barron to Eau Claire occurred Aug. 26, and the transition from Menomonie to Eau Claire is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.