Health system and Pennsylvania leaders are working on preserving emergency room services at a Community Health Systems-owned hospital that will no longer provide inpatient care.
The 48-bed Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock, Pa. — part of the Commonwealth Health network, which includes four other hospitals operated by Franklin, Tenn.-based CHS — is slated to end acute inpatient, surgical and emergency department services in October.
However, leaders from Commonwealth Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and elected officials are working to keep emergency services available at Tyler Memorial, according to an Aug. 10 news release from Commonwealth Health.
While inpatient services at Tyler Memorial have steadily declined, with the average inpatient daily census being only two or three patients, emergency services, outpatient care and diagnostic services are still used by the community.
"Many emergency services can be effectively managed at an emergency department that isn't adjacent to an inpatient hospital and without the need for transfer to a traditional hospital setting," Commonwealth said in a news release.
Whatever form the emergency services take, the network said emergency physicians, nurses and other providers would be on-site, and patients needing complex care would be transported to a nearby hospital.