Several hospitals are scaling back inpatient services or ending inpatient care.
Below are seven hospitals that announced plans to scale back or end inpatient care since February.
1. Marietta, Ga.-based WellStar Health System is closing the emergency department and ending inpatient care at Atlanta Medical Center South in May. The hospital will be converted into an outpatient site, and inpatient services will be consolidated to Atlanta Medical Center's main campus, Wellstar said.
2. Tampa, Fla.-based Shriners Hospitals for Children is ending inpatient care at its campus in Springfield, Mass. The hospital gave the Massachusetts Department of Public Health a 120-day notice of the plan on March 31.
3. Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham, Alaska, stopped accepting inpatient admissions April 8 because of a staffing shortage. The hospital's owner said it expects to resume accepting inpatients again on May 1.
4. Boston-based Tufts Children's Hospital is closing its pediatric inpatient units in July to convert its 41 pediatric inpatient beds to adult ICU and medical/surgical beds. Tufts will refer children to Boston Children's Hospital for care.
5. Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Richmond, Va., ended pediatric inpatient services April 1. The hospital attributed the decision in part to a low number of patients. The hospital said it's seeing an increased demand for adult inpatient medical and surgical care. Although the pediatric units are closing, the hospital will continue to provide emergency medical care to children via designated emergency room space.
6. Mercyhealth ended inpatient care at Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton in Rockford, Ill., and transitioned it to an outpatient facility in March. Inpatient services were consolidated to Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside in Rockford. Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton offers outpatient services, including cancer care, pain management, outpatient surgery and pediatrics.
7. Ascension St. John Medical Center plans to close its pediatric intensive care and general pediatric inpatient care unit at the end of April. The Tulsa, Okla.-based hospital said the decision was based on a community needs assessment and analysis of services offered in the community. Pediatric ambulatory, surgical and neonatal ICU services will not be affected, the hospital said.