Following Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health's decision to close 72-bed Walla Walla (Wash.) General Hospital July 24, organizations with ties to the hospital are unsure how or if their partnerships will be affected, according to a Union-Bulletin.com report.
Officials from area health facilities said the closure forces them to seek alternative partners. Officials at the Family Medical Center and the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center — both in Walla Walla — said patients who previously visited Walla Walla General for care will now have to find other providers.
University officials claim the hospital's partnership with Walla Walla (Wash.) Community College on student programs — including nursing, allied health and phlebotomy — will also be affected. University students in the school's nursing program who conducted their clinical training at the university will also have to train elsewhere, a spokesperson for the university told the Union-Bulletin.com.
The spokesperson also said the university clinic's partnership with Walla Walla General "has provided students access to a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse and after-business-hours access to an on-call physician," according to the report. The hospital's closure requires the university to find another provider to facilitate those services.