From cash flow challenges to dwindling patient volumes, many factors lead hospitals to shut down.
Here are the factors that led six hospitals to close so far this year:
Galesburg (Ill.) Cottage Hospital closed Jan. 8 and its workers were told via email that their employment was terminated. Galesburg Cottage Hospital's owner attributed the decision to abruptly close the facility to CMS' decision to terminate the facility's Medicare contract. In April, Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare acquired the real estate, medical equipment and other assets of Galesburg Cottage Hospital for $4 million. OSF said it doesn't plan to offer inpatient care at the facility.
West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health closed Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Pa., on Jan. 31. Brandywine Hospital was the second hospital Tower Health closed. The system shut down Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Pa., in December 2021. The decision to close both facilities came after Tower Health terminated a deal with Canyon Atlantic Partners, a turnaround firm based in Austin, Texas. Under that deal, Canyon Atlantic was set to assume ownership and operation of both hospitals Jan. 1, but the deal fell apart in December. In June, Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare announced plans to buy Jennersville Hospital from Tower Health.
In late March, Audrain Community Hospital in Mexico, Mo., and Callaway Community Hospital in Fulton, Mo., shut down. Kansas City, Mo.-based Noble Health, the hospitals' owner, initially attributed the closures to a technology issue and the need to restructure operations to become financially viable. Citing lawsuits, documents from CMS and interviews with employees, Kaiser Health News reported in June that the hospitals stopped paying their bills and care quality diminished after Noble Health took them over.
Cleveland (Texas) Emergency Hospital shut down in April. All of its services were consolidated to Texas Emergency Hospital in Cleveland. Both hospitals are part of Emergency Hospitals Systems. Emergency Hospitals Systems' CEO Michael Adkins said ending services at Cleveland Emergency Hospital was a strategic move that would allow the system to provide better healthcare to the community.
In late May, Patients' Hospital of Redding (Calif.) closed after 30 years. The hospital's owner said there wasn't enough inpatient volume to keep the facility open.