Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham, Alaska, has stopped accepting inpatients because of a staffing shortage, according to KDLG.
The owner of the hospital, Dillingham-based Bristol Bay Area Health Corp., said it began diverting patients in need of acute care on April 8 because it lacks a hospitalist.
The hospital's owner said it expects to begin accepting inpatients again on May 1, according to the report.
"For the month of May, we have secured a hospitalist. … We continue to make efforts to get staffing in place sooner than that," Cynthia Rogers, Bristol Bay Area Health's public information officer, told KDLG.
The hospital is still offering emergency care and other routine services.
"This should not deter anyone from seeking care at Kanakanak Hospital," Ms. Rogers told KDLG. "We're able to offer same-day appointments for patients in most cases … and our emergency department would stabilize any patients who come in for care before they're transported to an inpatient hospital."