A public hospital closes. Impact on patients' access to care and health status.

We studied the impact of the closing of a public hospital on patients' access to care and health status. We surveyed individuals who had been medical inpatients at Shasta General Hospital, Redding, Calif, in the year prior to its closing and compared them with those in a second county, San Luis Obispo, whose public hospital did not close. Surveys were administered after the closing of Shasta General Hospital and 1 year later. We assessed outcomes using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form and a series of transition questions that asked about changes in health over time. Data were available for 88% of patients at 1 year: 219 from Shasta County and 195 from San Luis Obispo County. At follow-up, the percentage of patients from Shasta County who reported no regular provider increased from 14.0 to 27.7 and the percentage who reported they were denied care rose from 10.8 to 16.9. Meanwhile, patients in San Luis Obispo County reported improved access to a regular provider and the level of denied care was unchanged. Patients in Shasta County had significant declines on the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form in health perception, social and role function, and increases in pain as compared with those patients in San Luis Obispo County. The closing of a public hospital had a significant effect on access to health care and was associated with a decline in health status.