Several hospitals reported plans to end inpatient care over the last few months:
1. Boston-based Tufts Children's Hospital will close its 41-bed hospital for pediatric inpatients because of a smaller demand for child care. The space will be converted into an adult intensive care unit.
2. Henrico Doctors' Hospital in Richmond, Va., will stop providing pediatric inpatient care effective April 1, according to a statement shared with Becker's. The hospital, which is part of HCA Virginia, cited a low number of patients as part of the reasoning behind the decision.
3. Galesburg (Ill.) Cottage Hospital abruptly closed Jan. 8, ending all services including inpatient care. The hospital's CEO Sanjay Sharma, PhD, attributed the decision to CMS' decision to end the facility's Medicare contract. He said the closure is temporary but didn't provide a timeline for when the facility may reopen.
4. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health closed Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Pa., on Dec. 31. The health system said in September it would close the facility by the end of 2021. The closure plan was temporarily put on hold in late November after Tower Health entered into an agreement to sell Jennersville Hospital and another facility to Canyon Atlantic Partners, a hospital management firm based in Austin, Texas. The deal was called off in December.
5. Mercyhealth, which has seven hospitals in Wisconsin and Illinois, filed an application with the Illinois Health and Services Review Board to end inpatient services at Javon Bea Hospital-Rockton this year. There is a meeting scheduled for Jan. 26 on its closure, according to WREX.
6. One of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare's hospitals in Plantation, Fla., stopped providing inpatient care and converted to a freestanding emergency room operating under the direction of a nearby medical center. Physicians and other employees of the hospital in Plantation transitioned to a new hospital the company opened in Davie, Fla., about six miles away, on Nov. 15.
7. Community Hospital Long Beach (Calif.) closed its emergency department and will end inpatient acute care, a move that allows it to avoid about $75 million in upgrades needed to meet seismic requirements. The hospital's operator, MWN Community Hospital, cited low patient volume as another reason for the transition. Community Hospital Long Beach's inpatient occupancy averages about 32 percent. The hospital plans to offer behavioral health, wellness and urgent care services, and the transition is expected to take several months.