Cleveland-based St. Vincent Charity Medical Center will end inpatient and emergency room care Nov. 11, four days before originally planned, to ensure patient safety, according to clevelend.com.
Acute care and surgical staff will work through Nov. 15 to help with administrative, operational and facility issues, according to the report. Some caregivers will work past Nov. 15 to help wind down acute care services.
The hospital will transition into an ambulatory health services provider and rebrand as St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center.
St. Vincent's Cleveland campus will continue to offer outpatient care, including primary care, behavioral health, outpatient addiction treatment, occupational health, urgent care, psychiatric emergency services and specialty pharmacy, according to the report. The hospital's Solon (Ohio) campus will provide occupational health and urgent care.
The psychiatric emergency department, which will remain open, will be called Psychiatric Emergency Services at St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center.
Hospital administrators said the closing of the emergency department will not adversely affect the community, which has four other emergency departments within 5 miles of St. Vincent: University Hospitals, MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital.
The hospital said the decision to transition to outpatient care was down to its financial standing, which has been challenged by declining inpatient volumes, increased demand for outpatient care, the growth of telehealth and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.