Several 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 five closures or services ending, announced, advanced or finalized that Becker's has reported on since Dec. 13:
1. Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Health said it has closed the emergency room in Hammond, Ind., as of Dec. 31. The decision follows a ruling from the Indiana Court of Appeals, which gave the OK for the closure. The appeals court decision comes after Lake Superior Court Judge Bruce Parent on Dec. 29 upheld his order for Franciscan Health to keep its emergency room in Hammond open for nine months. The health system argued that keeping it open for that period is unsafe, as it has terminated various contracts needed to maintain operations.
2. Pittsburg, Kan.-based Ascension Via Christi Hospital closed its behavioral health department at the end of December due to a lack of funding and staffing.
3. Astria Toppenish (Wash.) Hospital is set to close its maternity ward Jan. 14, citing financial losses, fewer deliveries and reduced Medicaid reimbursement among its reasons for shuttering.
4. Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine Hospice at Rittenhouse, a part of Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, is set to close in February as the health system moves toward home-based hospice care.
5. Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health closed a section of its inpatient rehabilitation services Dec. 31. Fewer than 50 employees were affected by the closure. Northern Light had said it would work with those staff members to place them in other open positions within the health system.