St. Luke’s Phoenix hospital to close next month due to drop in patients

PHOENIX — A Phoenix hospital will close its doors next month due to a decline in patients.

St. Luke’s Medical Center near 18th and Van Buren streets will close Nov. 24, according to a letter from the hospital’s President James Flinn.

The hospital typically sees 70 patients daily although it has a capacity for 219, Flinn said, meaning about 2 out of 3 beds are empty.

The hospital’s occupancy rate has remained below 40% during the past two years, and emergency visits have dropped by 16%.

“The trend is clear: many St. Luke’s patients and community members have decided to go to other health care facilities for their medical needs,” Flinn said.

“When hospital volumes decrease below critical levels, our ability to provide safe, high-quality care could be compromised.”

The medical center’s Tempe hospital, behavioral health center, Mountain Vista Medical Center and recently reopened Florence hospital will remain in operation.

Staff members have been contacting patients to help them transfer records and appointments to other hospitals, Flinn said.

The hospital will stop taking emergency patients at 1:01 a.m. on Nov. 23, and remaining patients will be discharged or transferred the next day.

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