A number of healthcare organizations have recently closed medical departments or ended services at facilities to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or address staffing shortages.
Here are 10 department closures or services that are ending or have been announced, advanced or finalized that Becker’s reported since May 12:
1. Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Los Robles Regional Medical Center closed its pediatric unit July 1. Hospital officials attributed the 12-bed unit’s closure to a significant decrease in pediatric volume. They reported the unit averaged fewer than two patients per day.
2. Jackson South Medical Center, part of Jackson Health System, both in Miami, will close its maternity ward unit this fall. The closure aims to aid the hospital’s “continued growth and to better align with the current needs of the surrounding community,” according to a July 7 statement shared with Becker’s.
3. Columbus (Ind.) Regional Health is closing its inpatient rehabilitation unit, along with its CRH Orthopedics and Sports Medicine outpatient practice. Closures are expected to take place over the next few months and affect 50 employees. Additionally, effective Aug. 31, the system will no longer provide the athletic trainer program for Indiana University-Columbus. “Effective Sept. 30, 2025, the program will also end for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and Flatrock-Haw Creek School Corp. The health system cited “unprecedented challenges and financial hardships” for the closures and layoffs.
4. Morrisville, Vt.-based Copley Hospital plans to close its birthing center after its board voted June 17 to shutter it and transition to a regional care model. The hospital cited low birth rates in the state and limited resources, which have reached a “critical point.” The hospital is losing between $15,000 to $30,000 annually per birth, which has become “greater than can be managed.”
5. Trenton, N.J.-based Capital Health shuttered its satellite emergency department and outpatient clinic in the city due to structural issues. The two-hospital system on June 4 learned of significant structural problems with an adjoining building that threaten the integrity of its own medical facility. Leaders said the system had “no choice but to cease operations at this location without delay” to ensure the safety of patients, staff and visitors.
6. Missoula, Mont.-based Providence St. Patrick Hospital on June 4 shared plans to close its family maternity center due to “the current and anticipated challenges facing the healthcare industry.” The hospital, which is part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, also pointed to external forces such as a flat and declining birth rate and workforce shortages.
7. A Haverhill, Mass.-based hospital previously operated by now-bankrupt Steward Health Care plans to stop providing medical-surgical inpatient care due to a low patient census. The facility is now under a formal 120-day public process with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The planned changes are expected to take effect by Oct. 1.
8. Washington, Ind.-based Daviess Community Hospital closed its DCH Clinic of Jasper on May 30. The hospital said the decision is “part of a focused effort to strengthen the long-term future of our healthcare system by aligning services in ways that allow us to serve more patients, more efficiently, without compromising quality or access.”
9. Madelia (Minn.) Health closed its only pharmacy May 28 due to rising costs.
10. Renton, Wash.-based Valley Medical Center said on May 12 it will make service consolidations and other changes to 50% of its workforce over the next two months due to financial challenges, state and federal government uncertainties, and private sector reimbursement.
