Summa Health System is evaluating whether changes are needed for the emergency department at one of its Akron hospitals.
But Summa spokesman Mike Bernstein said on Monday that the health system doesn’t have plans at this time to close the ER at St. Thomas Hospital on North Main Street, despite rumors to the contrary.
“We are currently in the process of reviewing its operations and utilization to determine if any changes need to be made,” he said.
A timeline for the review process and any potential adjustments to services within the hospital’s emergency department hasn’t been announced.
“The review will take as long as necessary to ensure the services we are providing to the community are the right services in the right location,” Bernstein said.
Akron Fire Chief Robert C. Ross said the Fire Department hasn’t received any official notice about changes at St. Thomas’ emergency department, but “there have been rumblings for some time” about a potential closure.
In fact, Ross said, there’s been speculation that St. Thomas might eventually shutter its emergency department since the hospital merged with City Hospital in 1989.
“Certainly, it’s something we’re monitoring very carefully,” he said. “We don’t take a significant number of patients there, but it is still one of the destinations we transport patients, so something will definitely have to adjust if some of these things come to fruition.”
Ross said the biggest concern would be any potential impact on wait times for patients and the paramedics who transport them.
If changes are made in the future to emergency medicine services offered at St. Thomas or any Summa location, “There are protocols in place to make sure the public and all interested parties are notified,” Bernstein said. “But to be clear, we are simply in a review. There’s nothing additional to communicate at this time.”
The St. Thomas emergency department primarily treats patients with behavioral health and orthopedic problems, as well as sexual assault victims and walk-in patients, Bernstein said.
St. Thomas is located less than 2 miles from Summa’s flagship Akron City Hospital, which recently completed a multimillion dollar ER renovation and expansion.
The $49 million overhaul to City’s emergency department included a 85,000-square-foot addition, adding 33 beds.
City has 76 emergency department beds, compared to 20 at St. Thomas. City and St. Thomas hospitals had a combined 115,862 emergency department visits in 2012, the most recent year available. The health system operates City and St. Thomas hospitals as a single entity for business and reporting purposes and doesn’t release a breakdown of ER visits by facility.
The review of St. Thomas’ emergency department is part of Summa’s ongoing strategic planning process, Bernstein said.
“We regularly review our facilities to ensure that we’re prepared to meet the demands of a new era of health care,” he said. “The goal of that review is to better understand the current and future health-care landscape and to ensure the services offered meet the needs of the community for which they are provided.”
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.