East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare plans to end inpatient services at ETMC Gilmer (Texas) by Jan. 1, but the hospital will continue to operate a full-service emergency center as well as lab and radiology services. A physician clinic at the hospital will remain open.
"Making this decision was difficult," Perry Henderson, senior vice president of affiliate operations, said. "Unfortunately, poor utilization and declining reimbursements across the board make providing inpatient care unfeasible."
Less than 10 percent of the county's hospitalizations were at ETMC Gilmer in 2013, as the hospital averaged just two to four patients each day.
About 40 employees will be affected by the changes, and ETMC plans to offer assistance to those employees to find jobs at other ETMC facilities or elsewhere.