Getting the staff's attention: strategies for averting a hospital closure.

Abstract

Hospitals are closing, but staff do not seem to believe it until it happens, and then it is too late. This article describes strategies the patient services executive can use to get the staff attention early enough so that changes can be implemented before the hospital is forced to close. This author, who successfully averted a potential closure situation in a rural setting, describes the critical steps to take to avoid hospital closure.