Hospitals are facing unprecedented challenges. Due to high costs, industry consolidation, worker shortages, and changing care needs, many hospitals and clinics are on the brink of closure. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, 23 hospitals and emergency departments have closed in 2024. Healthcare Dive has also identified more than 700 rural hospitals on the verge of closure. The result? Now, many areas, especially rural areas, have limited access to healthcare and growing disparities in care. Here are some important closures to take note of in each region of the US.
1. Midwest
Two hospitals in the Chicago area will be closing their doors next year. Kindred Hospitals said that it is planning to shut down Kindred Hospital Lakeshore in Chicago and Kindred Hospital Sycamore, based in DeKalb County. The long-term care hospitals are set to close in April 2025. Both have seen a decline in patients, leading to the decision.
Additional closures this year include the emergency department at Kettering Health in Piqua, Ohio, HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Wisconsin. Additionally, many hospitals are being converted into clinics like the Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital in Michigan.
2. Northeast
In the Northeast, Steward Healthcare has shut the doors of two hospitals in Massachusetts. Carney Hospital in Dorchester and Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer have shut down after Steward Health declared bankruptcy. The state has been working to find new owners for Steward’s 31 facilities. Many communities have been affected by this disruption in care and the loss of more than 1,200 jobs.
3. South
According to UNC Gillings School of Public Health, nearly 10% of rural counties in the South are losing hospitals. Many of these counties are left without a hospital. Worsening economic inequality, reliance on Medicare and Medicaid, and shaky financials are all to blame for this growing problem in the South.
Some notable hospital closures in the South include Thomasville Regional Medical Center in Alabama. The hospital closed in September due to financial challenges and staff shortages. Additionally, Glenwood Regional Medical Center in Louisiana closed its inpatient rehab center in March 2024.
4. Southwest
In the Southwest, Texas has been hard hit by rural hospital closures. The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform estimates that 25 rural Texas hospitals are at risk of closing in the next three years. CapRock Hospital and CapRock 24-Hour Emergency Care Center in Bran-College Station, Texas will close in December 2024. CapRock Health System cited both economic and market factors that contributed to the closure. Additionally, the Beaumont campus of the Medical Center of Southeast Texas closed in February 2024.
5. West
California in particular has been devastated by hospital closures, many including maternity wards. Since 2012, 46 hospitals have suspended or permanently closed their labor and delivery wards. Sixty percent of those closures took place in the last three years. This year, eight hospitals have shut down their maternity wards. The state has been working to pass legislation to slow down the rate of closures and allow state intervention when a hospital is struggling to keep its labor and delivery ward open.
Why It Matters
The wave of hospital closures in the U.S. is alarming and isn’t just limited to rural areas. So, what is driving this surge in closures? Conditions in the workplace have contributed to hospital closures with 10% of physicians quitting in 2021 alone. Perhaps, COVID compounded declining worker satisfaction in the field. This has made it difficult for hospitals to continue their operations.
Inflation is also a contributing factor. It has increased the cost of medical supplies. Hospitals struggle to get reimbursements from insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid. The list goes on. However, the real crisis is the effect on patients. Without access to medical care in many communities, patients often delay care. There is less care continuity, and nearby hospitals experience additional strain, which can decrease the quality of care as well. So, what’s in store for the future of hospitals? Hopefully, reform and revitalization.