Here are five hospitals that have announced plans to close in the past two months.
1. Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System announced it is discontinuing healthcare services at St. Mary's Hospital in Streator, Ill., and transferring ownership of the hospital and its related facilities to Peoria, Ill.-based OSF Healthcare System. The health systems expect the transition to begin in early 2016, but a firm date has not been set for St. Mary's closure. OSF already has a physician office building in Streator and plans to initially use the former hospital building to provide outpatient services. However, OSF has plans to build a new outpatient center in Streator, and it is uncertain what would happen to the St. Mary's building at that point.
2. Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy health system announced it will close Mercy Hospital Independence (Kan.) next month. The hospital's inpatient services, emergency department and ambulatory surgery services will close on Oct. 10. Some outpatient clinic services will remain open past that date, but are expected to close no later than Dec. 31.
3. Boston-based Partners HealthCare announced it will close its Union Hospital in Lynn, Mass. The system had originally intended to close the hospital and consolidate inpatient services at North Shore Medical Center Salem (Mass.) Hospital over the next 18 months. However, Partners subsequently extended that timeline to three years.
4. Nye Regional Medical Center in Tonopah, Nev., closed it doors Aug. 21 due to financial troubles. The hospital had been struggling financially for years, and those troubles forced the facility to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2013.
5. Cheverly, Md.-based Dimensions Healthcare System announced plans to close 106-bed Laurel (Md.) Regional Hospital and replace it with an ambulatory services center. The ambulatory care center, which will offer emergency services, outpatient surgery and diagnostic imaging, is expected to open on the hospital site by 2018.
More articles on hospital closures:
9 recent hospital bankruptcies, closures
Palomar Health to close California hospital: 3 things to know
Cleveland Clinic hit with $400M lawsuit over Lakewood Hospital closure