Coming off of 23 hospital closures in 2025, the trend of hospital and emergency departments shuttering across the U.S. has shown no signs of slowing down.
A January 2026 analysis from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that 734 U.S. rural hospitals are at risk of closure, representing one-third of rural facilities nationwide. From financial losses, staffing shortages and concerns over effects of HR 1, many hospital leaders have had to make tough decisions on where to cut back or whether to close.
Becker’s has reported on five hospital and emergency department closures in 2026:
Editor’s note: This article will be updated continuously.
1. Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel Health System will close its freestanding Mount Carmel Franklin Emergency Department, also in Columbus, Aug. 22. Following the closure, the system will open a community-centered primary and prevention care hub, Mount Carmel Franklinton Care Center, Aug. 24 in Columbus.
2. Sturgis (Mich.) Hospital will close June 19 after 101 years of operation due to financial challenges and unsuccessful attempts to ensure a long-term path forward. The facility pointed to declining reimbursement rates, rising operating costs and a decrease in patient utilization.
3. Searcy, Ark.-based Unity Health permanently closed the emergency department and medical unit on April 15 at its Jacksonville, Ark.-based acute care hospital. The closure comes three years after the hospital opened in March 2023. Unity Health plans to convert it into a freestanding psychiatric hospital.
4. Bradford (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, part of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Kaleida Health, submitted a closure notice to discontinue its inpatient and emergency services by May 17 amid ongoing financial challenges.
5. Gaithersburg, Md.-based Adventist HealthCare plans to close its Germantown (Md.) Emergency Center on July 1, pending state approvals. The decision is based on declining volume at the facility, which opened in 2006 and is one of Maryland’s seven freestanding emergency rooms.
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