A number of healthcare organizations have recently closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or address staffing shortages.
Here are 17 department closures or services that are ending or have been announced, advanced or finalized that Becker's reported since July 1:
1. Cincinnati-based Mercy Health and Cleveland-based The MetroHealth System shared a joint decision to end the trauma program at Mercy Health – Lorain (Ohio) Hospital, effective Oct. 15, and to not seek a level 3 trauma center reverification from the American College of Surgeons. The hospital will continue to provide emergency care for people experiencing severe, emergent or life-threatening symptoms.
2. The Faith Community ER in Bowie (Texas), part of Jacksboro, Texas-based Faith Community Health System, will close Oct. 6 nearly one year after opening due to a lack of financial assistance. In a Sept. 23 letter to the community Faith Community Health System CEO Frank Beaman said that after an internal review, the ER did not meet projections needed to maintain operations.
3. Fort Kent-based Northern Maine Medical Center will cut its children's behavioral health unit and has applied for a critical access designation to address financial issues. The hospital's four-person behavioral team will be transferred to other positions in the system and the nine-bed adult behavioral unit will remain open.
4. Juneau, Alaska-based Bartlett Regional Hospital closed its high-intensity residential substance abuse treatment facility on Sept. 24. A post on the hospital's website said its "serious financial position necessitated a thorough program evaluation of several services," including the Rainforest Recovery Center, which has been cross-subsidized by the hospital for several years. The hospital said it is collaborating with Juneau-based Gastineau Human Services on a transition plan and tentatively aims to begin providing some services at Gastineau on Jan. 6, 2025.
5. Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg, Va., will close its pediatric unit at the end of September, though officials emphasize the hospital will continue to provide care for children in the emergency department and make safe transfers when necessary. Low inpatient volumes and the nation's pediatrician shortage were key drivers in the decision to close the unit, the hospital's chief nursing officer, Gina Yost, MSN, said.
6. Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente will close its last skilled nursing facility in the country, the Kaiser Permanente Post Acute Care Center in San Leandro, Calif., the health system said in a Sept. 10 statement. The closure, which began in June, will result in the loss of 249 jobs. The last patients were transitioned from the facility by the end of July. The facility is expected to be fully closed by mid-November. Kaiser said it is working with employees and union officials to find other positions within Kaiser Permanente. The system said it will also assist employees who are not able to find another position within the system.
7. University of Southern California Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale will close its labor and delivery services, along with its neonatal intensive care unit, on Nov. 20 and lay off 65 employees. The decision was based on an examination of services at the hospital, community needs and shifting demographics, a spokesperson for the hospital said.
8. MercyOne Newton (Iowa) Medical Center is pausing its labor and delivery services indefinitely, effective after Oct. 15 due to Newton Clinic ending its recruitment of physicians who are dedicated to labor and delivery obstetrics services. In an Aug. 30 joint statement from Newton Clinic and MercyOne Newton Medical Center, shared with Becker's, Newton Clinic pointed to a "decade of significant recruitment and physician workforce challenges" for the service cuts.
9. Hemet (Calif.) Global Medical Center, a 327-bed facility, plans to close its labor and delivery department this fall. The hospital attributes the decision to low birth numbers and a shortage of physicians. The closure, expected to take effect by the end of October, is anticipated to affect 35 employees.
10. Santa Paula (Calif.) Hospital will end births and intensive care services on Oct. 15, pending approval by state officials. In May, leaders from the Ventura County Health Care Agency presented a budget plan to county officials that proposed closing the two units and relocating services to 272-bed Ventura (Calif.) County Medical Center about 15 miles away. They cited financial losses of approximately $16 million in the last fiscal year and noted a significant decline in patient volumes, a drop from 502 deliveries in 2010 to 167 in 2023.
11. Upland, Pa.-based Crozer Health ended surgical services at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Pa. The 107-bed community hospital offers general and specialty surgical services. In recent months, the hospital has reported an average of three to four surgical cases per day, while also seeing a reduction in general surgeons, according to Crozer CEO Tony Esposito.
12. Sharon (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, will close a 125-year-old nursing school after the current class of students graduates next May. The closure is "due to complications" from Steward's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the health system said in an Aug. 7 news release.
13. Beaver, Pa.-based Heritage Valley Health System laid off several workers and is closing multiple facilities as part of an organizational downsizing. The workforce and service cuts were made to help the system meet its fiscal year 2025 (year ending June 30) budget as the two-hospital health system continues to evaluate a potential partner, president and CEO Norman Mitry said in a July 31 letter to employees.
14. New York (City)-Presbyterian is seeking approval from the state Department of Health to close the 16-bed rehabilitation unit at New York City-based Columbia University Irving Medical Center and transition it to in-patient beds. The conversion of the unit, located in the hospital's Milstein Hospital Building, is part of an ongoing patient-need and hospital census assessment, a spokesperson for New York-Presbyterian told Becker's on July 25.
15. Aspirus Medford (Wis.) Hospital and Clinics will transition maternal care services to another location starting Oct. 1 amid a shrinking OB-GYN pipeline. While Aspirus Medford will continue to provide prenatal and postnatal care, deliveries will be performed at the Aspirus Wausau (Wis.) Hospital Birthing Center.
16. Providence (R.I.) Community Health Centers closed its Olneyville Health Center on July 31. A spokesperson for the federally qualified health center said the closure of the clinic is temporary and is due to a national shortage of primary care providers. An internal memo from Providence Community Health Centers CEO Merrill Thomas said that an inadequate state Medicare reimbursement rate and "manufacturer attacks on our 340B Drug Pricing Program" placed the FQHC "in an unsustainable negative financial position," which has led to layoffs and the closure of the Olneyville Health Center.
17. Grove Hill (Ala.) Memorial Hospital discontinued its labor and delivery services on Aug. 16. The move came after the hospital's governing board in May decided to transition to rural emergency hospital status.