Several healthcare organizations recently closed medical units or terminated services to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or prevent patient care lapses. Here are six that have announced or completed closures in the last three weeks:
1. Windham (Conn.) Hospital has suspended childbirth services and notified the Connecticut health department that it will soon file a public notice to permanently close its labor and delivery unit. Labor and delivery staff at the hospital will be given the chance to work in other departments.
2. Dallas-based Steward Health Care plans to close the emergency department at Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center in November.
3. Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, part of the UnityPoint Health-Des Moines network, plans to close its 16-bed maternity unit July 31.
4. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare is moving forward with its plan to end inpatient services at its 160-bed Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, Mass.
5. Bay City, Mich.-based McLaren Bay Region Hospital plans to end EMS services and close its four Bay County EMS locations. The change is part of the hospital's transition to a new emergency transportation provider.
6. Massena (N.Y.) Hospital plans to close its maternity unit and its after-hours emergency surgery unit July 12.