DC hospital closes after 158 years

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.

St. Louis-based Ascension, the owner of Providence Hospital, faced pushback and several roadblocks after announcing it would close the facility last September. Initially, Ascension planned to close the hospital by Dec. 14, 2018.

D.C. officials tried several mechanisms to keep the facility open. In October 2018, D.C. Council members approved an emergency bill that gave D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration the power to force the hospital to stay open. The administration chose not to exercise the authority the bill granted it.

Ascension also pushed back the closure date in December 2018 after discussions with the D.C. Hospital Association and the D.C. Department of Health.

While the hospital is now closed, Providence will still offer primary care and outpatient behavioral health services, the hospital tweeted May 1. In addition, its Carroll Manor nursing facility is also open and patients will have access to a retail pharmacy.

The closure is part of Providence's plan to transition away from providing hospital inpatient services to delivering more primary and community-based services.

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