Sunnyside, Wash.-based Astria Health on Dec. 16 will end many cardiology services at Astria Sunnyside Hospital and its clinics in the Lower Valley region, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
The decision to scale back services is down to staffing challenges and increasing supply and labor costs, Astria Health President and CEO Brian Gibbons said in a Nov. 29 statement.
Astria Sunnyside Hospital currently offers inpatient and outpatient cardiology care at the hospital and its clinics, including elective percutaneous coronary interventions, cardiac catheterization, angioplasty, stent placement and coronary angiography, according to the report. However, open-heart surgeries and other major cardiac procedures have never been performed at the hospital.
Physicians at Astria hospitals and clinics will work with cardiologists associated with Yakima Valley Memorial and Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Wash., to ensure patients in the region have access to more intensive heart care.
Astria emergency rooms in the region will continue to provide emergent heart care, but will look to stabilize and transfer those patients to other hospitals, according to the report.
"Closing a service line is always a last resort, but part of being a good financial steward of our organization is to be responsible to our staff and the communities that depend on us," Mr. Gibbons said in a news release. "It makes sense to support healthcare entities that offer more-robust cardiology services."