Several healthcare organizations have closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or prevent patient care lapses.
Below are 10 closures or service endings announced, advanced or finalized since Sept.1, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review.
1. 128-bed Florida hospital to end obstetrics, delivery services
Bayfront Health Seven Rivers, a 128-bed hospital in Crystal River, Fla., will end obstetrical and newborn services and close its labor and delivery unit Feb. 11, 2022.
2. Georgia hospital to end gynecologic oncology services
St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus, Ga., will end gynecologic oncology services in January 2022.
3. Maine hospital to close neonatal ICU after staff resign over vaccination mandate
Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, part of Central Maine Healthcare, will close its neonatal intensive care unit because of staff resignations over the state's COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
4. Steward hospital moves up maternity ward closure by 3 months
Dallas-based Steward Health Care ended maternity and obstetrics services at Sharon (Pa.) Regional Medical Center about three months earlier than anticipated. The health system planned to stop nonemergency maternity and obstetrics services by Dec. 31, but it ended the services Sept. 29.
5. CHS ends inpatient, surgical care at Pennsylvania hospital
Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock, Pa., owned by Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, ended surgical and acute inpatient care Sept. 17, but the hospital continues to offer emergency and outpatient services.
6. Short-staffed Summa Health to close 121 beds
Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health said it will close 121 beds at two hospital campuses because of a staffing shortage. The system said it is adjusting inpatient hospital capacity to match staffing to maintain services and avoid long-term service closures.
7. Rhode Island Hospital closes part of ED over staff shortage
Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital was forced to close part of its emergency department Sept. 23 because of a nursing shortage. The portion of the ED that closed is called the C-pod, which has been used for different services at the hospital in the past year. It has been used as an inpatient holding unit, a unit for moderately acute patients and a COVID-19 isolation unit.
8. Beaumont closes 180 beds over staffing shortage
Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health said Sept. 15 that it closed about 180 beds because of staffing challenges. The health system said it is facing a shortage of nurses, nurse assistants and phlebotomists, among other positions, and is working aggressively to recruit new team members.
9. Henry Ford closes 120 beds due to staffing shortage
Henry Ford Health System has closed 120 beds in its system because of staffing challenges, the Detroit-based organization said in a media briefing Sept. 13. The health system said it is facing a shortage of hospital employees, which has been worsened by the pandemic.
10. New York health system to halt maternity care after staff resign over vaccine mandate
Lewis County Health System, a single hospital system in Lowville, N.Y., closed its maternity unit due to staffing challenges worsened by the number of workers unwilling to get the COVID-19 vaccine.