Hospital closure: who will be at risk in the upcoming decade?

Although the number of community hospitals that close in the United States is not large in proportion to the number that remain open, hospital closure is attracting increasing attention. National trends and patterns of closure occurring over the last five years, 1980-1984, can be seen in terms of hospital bed size, control, location, period of operation, and financial characteristics. These trends indicate that those hospitals that close generally are small, urban, and investor-owned or nongovernment, not-for-profit; they have been in existence for quite some time; and have low current ratios, net to gross patient revenue ratios, and total margins.