Texas has lost more than 20 hospitals since 2005, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, which could mean a rise in volume for ASCs in the region.
"As hospitals evaluate and close or ramp down in specific service lines, it can be a real opportunity for ASCs to capture new volume in a variety of specialties," Jennifer Misajet, RN, interim chief nursing officer at Fresno, Calif.-based Saint Agnes Medical Center, told Becker's in November. "Surgical patient volume in many specialties continues to migrate safely and appropriately to an ambulatory approach in both ASCs and hospitals. While service expansion may require ASCs to purchase specialty equipment and train staff, selectively focusing on growing volumes in specialties moving out of acute care can make sense for the revenue, productivity and utilization of the ASC."
Here are five Texas hospital closures or bankruptcies since September:
1. Longview, Texas-based Select Specialty Hospital is slated to close on June 30, resulting in 94 layoffs. Select Specialty Hospital Longview, operated by Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Select Medical, is a 32-bed, critical illness recovery hospital.
2. Port Arthur-based the Medical Center of Southeast Texas, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, shuttered its Beaumont campus on Feb. 2.
3. Lion Star LLC, the group that operates Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Northern District of Texas in November. The filing outlines that the hospital owes as much as $50 million to creditors.
4. St. Mark's Medical Center in La Grange, Texas shuttered Oct. 12 following efforts to satisfy its financial obligations. The hospital has been paying less than its full mortgage since 2020, but can no longer sustain its $13 million of mortgage debt.
5. The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, a physician-owned hospital in Westlake Hills, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. The hospital had significant debt before the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated the situation. The hospital also said that it has been burdened by high labor and supply inflation. Operations will continue during the bankruptcy proceedings.