Sturgis (Mich.) Hospital will cease operations at noon on June 19 after years of financial challenges and unsuccessful efforts to secure a long-term path forward.
The hospital cited years of ongoing financial challenges — including declining reimbursement rates, rising operating costs and decreases in patient utilization — as reasons for the closure.
“Despite extensive efforts by hospital leadership and the board of directors to secure the hospital’s future, including pursuing potential acquisition opportunities and partnerships, a sustainable path forward could not be achieved,” the hospital said in a June 16 post on its website. “This decision was reached only after every reasonable option to continue operations was thoroughly explored.”
The hospital said it is contacting patients with upcoming appointments to coordinate care at other facilities. Patients experiencing emergencies are being directed to nearby hospitals, including Parkview LaGrange Hospital in LaGrange, Ind., Beacon Three Rivers Hospital in Three Rivers, Mich., and Insight Hospital & Medical Center Coldwater in Coldwater, Mich.
The closure follows years of financial instability at the hospital.
Sturgis Hospital, which opened in 1925, became one of the first hospitals in the nation — and the first in Michigan — to convert to a rural emergency hospital in 2023. The designation was intended to strengthen emergency services and increase federal funding for the facility.
CMS created the REH provider type to address concerns over rural hospital closures and provide facilities a potential alternative to closure. In exchange for giving up their expensive inpatient beds and focusing solely on emergency and outpatient care, REHs receive a 5% increase in Medicare payments as well as an average facility fee payment of about $3.2 million a year.
Despite the conversion and additional funding, Sturgis Hospital was unable to overcome its financial challenges. Its closure marks the fourth hospital closure of 2026, following 23 closures in 2025 and 25 in 2024.
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