As more hospitals shutter services amid soaring costs and declining reimbursements, these market changes could affect how ASCs shift centers’ volumes and day-to-day workflow.
Here are eight hospitals Becker’s has reported on shuttering services in the last month:
1. Ouachita County Medical Center in Camden, Ark., closed its labor and delivery unit, which reported only 119 deliveries for 2025, on Jan. 9, CEO Glenda Harper confirmed in a phone call with Becker’s. Ms. Harper said affected employees were offered other positions in the hospital.
“Since August, when I came [in as CEO], it was one of a number of units that the board and the leadership group were talking about closing,” Ms. Harper said. “I asked to have the OB unit remain open and allow me to operate it to see if it could be profitable, only to find that it, in fact, can’t be. We do so few deliveries, and with the cut in reimbursement, it’s just not feasible.”
2. Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital, part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, set a March 27, 2026, deadline for shuttering its inpatient children’s unit. The hospital said in October it would close the eight-bed unit and repurpose it for adult inpatient care, citing low patient volumes and financial challenges. Providence also said the unit averages fewer than two admitted patients per day, most of whom stay less than 48 hours.
3. Samaritan Lebanon (Ore.) Community Hospital will temporarily pause labor and delivery services Jan. 15 after an unplanned loss of OB-GYN physician coverage and patient safety concerns.
4. Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Pulaski has suspended labor and delivery services following the departure of its last full-time obstetrician, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s. The change took effect Dec. 11. Labor and delivery services are being transitioned to Southern Tennessee Regional Health System Lawrenceburg, which is about 19 miles west of the Pulaski facility.
5. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health said Dec. 12 it will close the post-acute rehab center at its Phoenixville (Pa.) Hospital, which will affect 55 employees. Nearly all of the employees were offered new positions, and around 50% accepted new roles at the hospital. The restructuring is part of Tower Health’s larger plan to lay off around 350 employees, or around 3% of its more than 10,000 staff.
6. Linton, Ind.-based Greene County General Hospital will end obstetric services effective Jan. 31, 2026 as part of a strategic transition in response to long-term challenges facing rural hospitals nationwide — including rising costs, underpayment from payers and a steady decline in local birth volume.
7. Ashland (Ore.) Community Hospital, part of Medford, Ore.-based Asante Health, will transition to a satellite campus by spring 2026, ending its inpatient and obstetrics services. The hospital will close its inpatient license and become a satellite campus of Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford.8. Marshall, Mo.-based Fitzgibbon Hospital plans to close two primary care clinics, an inpatient behavioral health unit and Fitzgibbon Home Health and Hospice services, effective Dec. 31, in an effort to save more than $2 million annually. The cost-cutting measures, which were approved by Fitzgibbon’s board of trustees in collaboration with management, come at a time of “unprecedented economic headwinds” for Missouri rural hospitals.
