# Are there General Hospital Without Emergency Rooms?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-general-hospital-without-emergency-rooms/496334>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-general-hospital-without-emergency-rooms/496334 "2009-05-13T20:15:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-general-hospital-without-emergency-rooms/496334/1 "2009-05-13T20:15:28Z")

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I know there are a lot of specialty hospitals, like “women’s hospitals,” “children’s hospitals,” and “long term rehabilitation hospitals” but what about those that are termed, “Community Hospitals,” or “General Hospitals.”

The hospitals always claim that the cause of their woes are the treatment of uninsured. These uninsured enter the hospitals through the ERs." Now I know some hospitals “like under Hill Barton” and other agreements have to accept so much in charity cases per year because the government gives them low cost loans and such.

But I was thinking if a hospital has an ER then just decides to close the ER but keep the hospital functioning. I know there are freestanding ERs not connected to hospitals but I don’t know if I have heard of “General Hospitals” w/o ERs.

Again, I don’t count things like specialty hospitals for children, women, rehabilitation, long-term acute care, etc.

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**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-general-hospital-without-emergency-rooms/496334/2 "2009-05-13T21:30:37Z")

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I don’t have any specific cites on hand right now, but, yes, there are hospitals who close their emergency departments because they are hemorrhaging money so badly, while otherwise remaining open. This tends to have a positive feedback effect on other hospitals in the area, too – the indigent patients who would have gone to Hospital A now go to Hospital B, swamping their ED and taking up resources without paying into the system, making it more likely that Hospital B will close their ED, etc.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-general-hospital-without-emergency-rooms/496334/3 "2009-05-13T22:08:04Z")

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The only reliable cite I can find is that [80% of hospitals have emergency rooms](http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/HCUPnet.jsp). My guess is that hospitals that close their emergency departments redefine themselves to be specialty hospitals.