The emergency room at Sharon Regional Medical Center officially closed its doors Sunday morning at 7 a.m., leaving ambulance services scrambling to adjust to the sudden loss of a critical healthcare resource.
With the closure, patients now need to be diverted to other hospitals in the area, such as UPMC Farrell and UPMC Horizon.
Sharon Regional’s emergency department averaged 450 ambulance arrivals per month. McGonigle Ambulance Service, which previously averaged 3,000 trips annually to Sharon Regional, is already facing the strain of increased travel times, potentially having to transport patients as far as 25 to 30 minutes away, WKBN reports.
Although the ER is no longer accepting patients, an ambulance remains stationed outside the entrance to assist individuals who may arrive unaware of the closure.
- PA Hospital Closure Pushes EMS Burden on Neighboring Hospital
- PA Ambulance Service Closes After 36 Years Due to Financial Struggles
- Ambulances, Police Vehicles Keep Breaking Down in Pittsburgh as City Struggles to Find Funding
- Avoca (PA) Ambulance Ceases Operations, Merges with Greater Pittston Unit
- Scranton (PA) Eyes Starting Ambulance Service Within Fire Department
