According to several sources in the know, a New York state commission will recommend closing nine hospitals across the state and force several others to merge or cut beds. In addition to the nine that would be closed outright, others would be forced to become clinics or outpatient centers, effectively being closed as acute care centers. Ultimately, the panel's recommendations would call for cutting about 4,100 of the state's hospital beds, though they would also allow the addition of some additional beds where the commission feels they are needed. As FierceHealthcare noted yesterday, New York's healthcare leaders have dreaded the announcement of these recommendations, which could cause seismic shifts in the state's hospital industry. The recommendations will become law unless the state's legislature or governor rejects them in their entirety.
To learn more about the commission's plans:
- read this New York Times piece