Here are 22 hospitals that filed for bankruptcy protection or closed since Jan. 1, beginning with the most recent.
1. Sonoma West Medical Center (Sebastopol, Calif.). Sonoma West Medical Center entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy Sept. 26. The decision to enter bankruptcy came after Anthem and its affiliates in nine states sued SWMC and the company that managed the hospital's toxicology program June 1. The lawsuit alleges SWMC engaged in a fraudulent billing scheme.
2. Northside Regional Medical Center (Youngstown, Ohio). Dallas-based Steward Health Care closed Northside Regional Medical Center Sept. 20. Steward announced plans in August to shut down the facility, citing a sharp decline in patient volume.
3. McKenzie (Tenn.) Regional Hospital. Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health closed McKenzie Regional Hospital Sept. 15. On Oct. 1, Quorum completed the sale of the hospital to Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care. Baptist Memorial plans to operate the facility as an outpatient diagnostic imaging and sleep center.
4. Franciscan Chicago Heights (Ill.). Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Health closed Franciscan Chicago Heights on Sept. 7 as part of a restructuring plan that involved consolidating services at Franciscan's hospital in Olympia Fields, Ill.
5. Coalinga (Calif.) Regional Medical Center. The hospital district that operated Coalinga Regional Medical Center before it closed earlier this year filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Sept. 5. At that time, Coalinga Regional Medical Center CEO Wayne Allen said the hospital owed $5 million to unsecured creditors — $250,616 of which it owed to 115 employees for accrued vacation and sick time.
6. Verity Health (El Segundo, Calif.). Verity Health, which operates six hospitals in California, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 31. At that time, Verity Health CEO Richard Adcock said he expected the system to remain in bankruptcy protection for at least a few years as it restructures and continues working with potential buyers.
7. Magee (Miss.) General Hospital. Magee General Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 24. The hospital entered bankruptcy protection to reorganize its debt, and officials said the facility will remain open during the bankruptcy process.
8. Curae Health (Knoxville, Tenn.). Curae Health and its three hospitals in Mississippi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 24. The three Mississippi hospitals included in Curae's bankruptcy case are Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory, Panola Medical Center in Batesville and Northwest Mississippi Medical Center in Clarksdale.
9. Chestatee Regional Hospital (Dahlonega, Ga.).Chestatee Regional Hospital closed July 26, making it the seventh rural hospital in Georgia to close since 2010. The closure came after Chestatee Regional Hospital was at the center of a CBS News investigation that included allegations that the hospital's owner was using the facility to reap huge paydays from insurers.
10. Little River Healthcare (Rockdale, Texas). Litter River Healthcare, its parent company and several of its affiliated entities entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 24. One of the hospitals included in the bankruptcy filing, Crockett, Texas-based Timberlands Hospital, closed in 2017.
11. Good Samaritan Hospital (Dayton, Ohio). Dayton-based Premier Health shut down Good Samaritan Hospital July 23. Premier said operating two hospitals — Good Samaritan and Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton — within 5 miles of each other had become unsustainable.
12. Community Medical Center Long Beach (Calif.). Community Medical Center Long Beach opened in 1924 and closed July 3. The hospital shut down due to an inability to retrofit the facility to meet California's seismic standards.
13. Regional Medical Center Jacksonville (Ala.). After 42 years in operation, Regional Medical Center Jacksonville, a 104-bed hospital, closed June 30. The Healthcare Authority of the City of Anniston (Ala.), which operated RMC Jacksonville's parent company, announced plans in May to close the hospital due to rising healthcare costs and insufficient revenue.
14. Florence (Ariz.) Hospital at Anthem. Florence Hospital at Anthem closed June 18, just two days after its affiliated hospital, Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital, shut down. The hospitals entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late May after creditors filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition seeking to collect from the hospitals. The hospitals failed to contest the involuntary petition within the required 21-day timeline, and the court subsequently granted creditors' request for relief through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
15. Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital. Financial troubles pushed Gilbert Hospital to close June 16, two days before its affiliated hospital, Florence (Ariz.) Hospital at Anthem, shut down. Both hospitals faced financial troubles and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy before closing.
16. Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center (Kennett, Mo.). Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems closed Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center, a 116-bed hospital, June 12. The company cited less demand for inpatient care as the reason for the closure. CHS consolidated Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center's operations with Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Regional Medical Center.
17. Bay Area Regional Medical Center (Webster, Texas).Leaders said unfavorable contracts with managed care companies pushed Bay Area Regional Medical Center to close in May. "When it came to negotiations with our managed care contracts, we were unable to come to an agreement, a favorable agreement, and due to overhead, we couldn't survive," a hospital spokesperson told the Houston Chronicle in May.
18. The Miami Medical Center. The Miami Medical Center, a 67-bed hospital that suspendedservices in October 2017, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 9. The hospital was sold in auction in late June.
19. Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Garland (Texas). Baylor Scott & White Health, a nonprofit health system based in Dallas, explored several other options before shutting down 113-bed Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Garland Feb. 28. The health system closed the hospital, which incurred significant financial losses over the last three years, after scaling back services and trying to secure a new owner for the facility without success.
20. Iron County Medical Center (Pilot Knob, Mo.). Iron County Medical Center filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Feb. 21. The critical access hospital is owned by the Iron County Hospital District.
21. Affinity Medical Center (Massillon, Ohio). Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health closed Affinity Medical Center, a 156-bed hospital, Feb. 11. Quorum cited financial troubles as the reason for the closure. The company said declining revenues, increasing provider compensation and a competitive market caused Affinity Medical Center to record financial losses for the last six years.
22. Surprise Valley Hospital (Cedarville, Calif.). Surprise Valley Health Care District, which operates 26-bed Surprise Valley Hospital, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Jan. 4.
More articles on healthcare finance:
HCA, Dignity Health and Tenet among 1,299 providers to join BPCI Advanced
Trinity Health's operating income grows 50% in FY 2018
15 health systems with strong finances