In the last two weeks several hospitals announced plans to shutter maternity units or cease obstetrics services to shore up finances, focus on more in-demand services or improve patient care.

Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Ill., will stop offering inpatient labor and delivery services after May 31, according to The Southern Illinoisan.

Springfield (Vt.) Hospital closed its childbirth center May 3 after 105 years, according to the Valley News.

Lockport, N.Y.-based Eastern Niagara Hospital will close its maternity unit and eliminate dialysis, express care and X-ray services at its facility in Newfane, N.Y., according to The Buffalo News.

A construction crew hit a gas main next to the emergency department at Marietta, Ga.-based WellStar Kennestone Hospital on May 1, which temporarily disrupted normal hospital operations, reports WSB-TV.

Providence Hospital, a 283-bed facility located in Washington D.C., shut its doors April 30 after 158 years of service, according to NBC Washington.

Munson Healthcare Manistee (Mich.) Hospital will close its maternity unit May 31, affecting 15 jobs, according to UpNorthLive.

Uniontown (Pa.) Hospital will close its pediatric department and maternity unit June 30. The decision came after the hospital re-evaluated services after Pittsburgh-based UPMC said it would end its clinical affiliation with the facility this summer, according to The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin received at least 37 patients affected by an ammonia spill in Beach Park, Ill., according to the Lake County News-Sun.

Rural emergency departments experienced a rapid increase in use between 2005 and 2016, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

At least eight people died and dozens were injured as severe storms made their way across the South this weekend, according to an Associated Press story published by Time.

A gunman shot a police officer at Clinton, S.C.-based Laurens County Memorial Hospital April 11, representing the state's second hospital shooting in two days, reports The Post and Courier.

Airbnb expanded its Open Homes program for medical stays through two new partnerships, the company announced March 26.

Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health is changing what services it offers at two hospitals in Greene County, Tenn., according to NBC affiliate WCYB.

Emergency department visits reached 145.6 million patients in 2016 — a record high — compared to more than 136.9 million visits the year prior, according to new CDC data.

A 45-year-old man fatally shot himself April 3 at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Pottsville, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill S. Jackson Street, part of the Lehigh Valley Health Network, will close its emergency room May 1, according to The Morning Call.

  Galesburg (Ill.) Cottage Hospital will suspend inpatient labor, delivery and urology services starting May 2, according to WQAD, a Tribune Broadcasting affiliate.

Patients without insurance and those on Medicaid have a higher likelihood of being transferred to another hospital, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Kentuckiana Medical Center in Clarksville, Ind., closed its emergency room March 15, and it will completely shut down in the coming weeks.