Bradford (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, part of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Kaleida Health, plans to close its inpatient, emergency and long-term care services by mid-2026 and transition its campus to an ambulatory, outpatient care model pending approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The closure and transition to outpatient care will affect 238 employees, who will have the opportunity to seek other positions at Kaleida Health, according to a Feb. 17 news release shared with Becker’s.
Kaleida Health pointed to a declining population and “severely reduced patient census” for its decision, with financial losses at the hospital averaging $10.1 million annually since 2021. The hospital’s closure notice mainly affects its 20-bed inpatient unit, which has an average daily census of less than one patient per day in 2026, with an inpatient utilization that has declined 73% since 2019.
Bradford Regional’s emergency department, certain hospital-based services and the Pavilion, the hospital’s 95-bed long-term care facility, are also part of the closure notice.
The health system launched a $200 million strategic plan in 2025 aimed at improving patient care, strengthening the system’s long-term sustainability and expanding care access.
“Federal funding cuts and long-standing financial pressures across the healthcare industry have accelerated the challenges we face and the decisions we are considering or have already made,” Don Boyd, president and CEO of Kaleida Health, said in the release. “This $200 million plan gives us the opportunity to evaluate and reimagine how and where we provide the care and services our communities need most while doing so in the most efficient and effective way.”
The planned closure also comes after a recent analysis from consultant firm Oliver Wyman, commissioned by The Hospital + Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, found that as many as 12 to 14 Pennsylvania hospitals could close in the next five years without policy changes to align care costs and payments.
Bradford Regional plans to continue operation pending state approval of its primary care offices and select specialty outpatient clinics, which include cardiology, medical oncology, pediatrics, general surgery and wound care, orthopedics and sports medicine, occupational health, women’s health, urology and a lab draw station. The hospital is also exploring opportunities to integrate specific imaging services into the clinics, the release said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Feb. 18 at 10:17 a.m. Central time.
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