Hospital Closings

A state-by-state breakdown of 77 rural hospital closures, by Ayla Ellison, 8/23/16   

Of the 25 states that have seen at least one rural hospital close since 2010, those with the most closures are located in the South, according to research from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program.

Ten hospitals in Texas have closed since 2010, the most of any state. Tennessee has seen the second-most closures, with eight hospitals closing since 2010. In third place is Georgia with six closures followed by Alabama, which has seen five hospitals close over the past six years.

Listed below are the 77 rural hospitals that have closed since 2010, as tracked by the NCRHRP. For the purposes of its analysis, the NCRHRP defined a hospital closure as the cessation in the provision of inpatient services. Although all of the facilities listed below no longer provide inpatient care, many of them still offer other services, including outpatient care, imaging, emergency care, urgent care, primary care or skilled nursing and rehabilitation services

Alabama
Chilton Medical Center (Clanton)
Elba (Ala.) General Hospital
Florala (Ala.) Memorial Hospital
Randolph Medical Center (Roanoke)
South West Alabama Medical Center (Thomasville)

Arizona
Cochise Regional Hospital (Douglas)
Florence (Ariz.) Community Healthcare
Hualapai Mountain Medical Center (Kingman)

California
Colusa (Calif.) Regional Medical Center
Corcoran (Calif.) District Hospital
Kingsburg (Calif.) Medical Center

Georgia
Calhoun Memorial Hospital (Arlington)
Charlton Memorial Hospital (Folkston)
Hart County Hospital (Hartwell)
Lower Oconee Community Hospital (Glenwood)
North Georgia Medical Enter (Ellijay)
Stewart-Webster Hospital (Richland)

Illinois
St. Mary's Hospital (Streator)

Kansas
Central Kansas Medical Center (Great Bend)
Mercy Hospital Independence (Kan.)

Kentucky
New Horizons Medical Center (Owenton) 
Nicholas County Hospital (Carlisle)
Parkway Regional Hospital (Fulton)
Westlake Regional Hospital (Columbia)

Maine
Parkview Adventist Medical Center (Brunswick)
Southern Maine Health Care – Sanford Medical Center
St. Andrews Hospital (Boothbay Harbor)

Massachusetts
North Adams (Mass.) Regional Hospital

Michigan
Cheboygan (Mich.) Memorial Hospital

Minnesota
Albany (Minn.) Area Hospital 
Lakeside Medical Center (Pine City)

Mississippi
Kilmichael (Miss.) Hospital
Merit Health Natchez (Miss.) – Community Campus
Patient's Choice Medical Center of Humphreys County (Belzoni)
Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton (Miss.)

Missouri
Parkland Health Center – Weber Road (Farmington) 
Sac-Osage Hospital (Osceola)
SoutheastHEALTH Center of Reynolds County (Ellington)

Nebraska
Tilden (Neb.) Community Hospital

Nevada
Nye Regional Medical Center (Tonopah)

North Carolina
Blowing Rock (N.C.) Hospital
Franklin Regional Medical Center (Louisburg)
Vidant Pungo Hospital (Belhaven)
Yadkin Valley Community Hospital (Yadkinville)

Ohio
Doctors Hospital of Nelsonville (Ohio)
Physicians Choice Hospital-Fremont (Ohio)

Oklahoma
Epic Medical Center (Eufaula)
Memorial Hospital & Physician Group (Frederick)
Muskogee (Okla.) Community Hospital
Sayre (Okla.) Memorial Hospital

Pennsylvania
Mid-Valley Hospital (Peckville)
Saint Catherine Medical Center Fountain Springs (Ashland)

South Carolina
Bamberg (S.C.) County Memorial Hospital
Marlboro Park Hospital (Bennettsville)
Southern Palmetto Hospital (Barnwell)
Williamsburg Regional Hospital (Kingstree)

South Dakota
Holy Infant Hospital (Hoven)

Tennessee
Gibson General Hospital (Trenton)
Haywood Park Community Hospital (Brownsville)
Humboldt (Tenn.) General Hospital
McNairy Regional Hospital(Selmer) 
Parkridge West Hospital (Jasper)
Pioneer Community Hospital of Scott (Oneida)
Starr Regional Medical Center-Etowah (Tenn.)
United Regional Medical Center (Manchester)

Texas
Bowie (Texas) Memorial
East Texas Medical Center-Clarksville
East Texas Medical Center-Gilmer
East Texas Medical Center-Mount Vernon
Good Shepherd Medical Center (Linden)
Hunt Regional Hospital of Commerce (Texas)
Lake Whitney Medical Center (Whitney)
Renaissance Hospital Terrell (Texas)
Shelby Regional Medical Center (Center)
Wise Regional Health System-Bridgeport (Texas)

Virginia
Lee Regional Medical Center (Pennington Gap)

Wisconsin
Franciscan Skemp Medical Center (Arcadia)

More information on the rural hospitals that have closed since 2010 can be accessed here.

More articles on healthcare finance:

OIG: Massachusetts home healthcare provider received $15.5M in Medicare overpayments
35 NJ hospitals sued over tax-exempt status
6 healthcare CFOs in the headlines

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/a-state-by-state-breakdown-of-76-rural-hospital-closures.html

Comments

Hospitals bills are too high and patients are trying to avoid them. US medicine is in the middle of a perfect storm. Obamacare has caused costs to explode and failure to lower the cost of care remains.  When the price is too high, consumers reduce demand and supply dries up. Rural counties are the hardest hit. 

After Obamacare is repealed, medicine may be able to rebuild, but the need to lower the cost of government subsidies will keep pressure on costs.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader