As hospitals face soaring supply and labor costs and labor shortages, some are forced to shutter services.
Some ASC leaders think these service line closures could be a growth opportunity. While many of the services being cut recently are labor and delivery, which are not ASC specialties, the cuts may be a harbinger for additional service cuts in the future.
"As hospitals evaluate and close or ramp down in specific service lines, it can be a real opportunity for ASCs to capture new volume in a variety of specialties," Jennifer Misajet, RN, interim chief nursing officer at Fresno, Calif.-based Saint Agnes Medical Center, told Becker's in November. "Surgical patient volume in many specialties continues to migrate safely and appropriately to an ambulatory approach in both ASCs and hospitals. While service expansion may require ASCs to purchase specialty equipment and train staff, selectively focusing on growing volumes in specialties moving out of acute care can make sense for the revenue, productivity and utilization of the ASC."
Here are five hospitals that have recently announced plans to shutter services:
1. St. Marys, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Elk announced it is closing its labor and delivery services on May 1.
2. Oakdale, Calif.-based Oak Valley Hospital District will close its five-bed intensive care unit, discontinue its family support network department and lay off 28 employees, citing ongoing challenges facing rural hospitals.
3. Rumford (Maine) Hospital announced it is closing its maternity program March 31, citing a decline in birth rates and staff shortages.
4. Essentia Health-Fosston (Minn.) and Mayo Clinic Health System's New Prague, Minn., site are closing their labor and delivery units.
5. Port Arthur-based Medical Center of Southeast Texas, an affiliate of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, shut down its campus in Beaumont on Feb. 2.