The two gleaming operating rooms in this Kingston, New York, hospital still look brand-new seven years after being built for $5 million: They've never seen one patient, and never will.
With an occupancy rate of just over 50 percent, the 150-bed hospital, its surgery center and an emergency department renovated in 2011 for $6 million will be closed and retrofitted into what its new owner calls a “medical village” of outpatient services such as physical therapy and behavioral health services.
The story of the 123-year-old facility, located in a small town about 100 miles north of New York City, is repeating itself nationwide. Hospitals have been disappearing as government pressure to drive down costs moved care to standalone units, doctors' offices and even patients' homes. Now, with the election of Donald Trump and his promise to repeal Obamacare, they find themselves more vulnerable than any other health-care providers to the major disruptions ahead, as they could lose government funds and face an increase of uninsured or less-profitable patients.
