St. Joseph Medical Center in The Heights
To the Houston Heights community:
I am writing today to share the news that our hospital’s satellite campus – St. Joseph Medical Center in The Heights – will close on September 25, 2019.
Despite continued investment in the Heights campus, patient demand has not improved. This is not a reflection on our dedicated staff at the Heights or their work to serve and care for patients. On a given day, the Heights has 12 patients in the hospital out of a total capacity of 46 beds. Over the past 5 years, the Heights’ occupancy rate – the rate of how many beds are occupied – has remained below 30 percent.
Keeping the Heights campus open is simply not sustainable.
St. Joseph Medical Center’s main campus remains open as usual, and patients continue to have access to high-quality, affordable area hospitals. Our leadership team is committed to working with our entire physician community at the Heights to facilitate continued strong relationships with our main campus downtown.
Starting today, Steward Health Care is contacting all St. Joseph patients to transition those with scheduled procedures at the Heights to the main hospital campus. The Heights will stop taking ambulances and admissions in the Emergency Department as of 6:00 AM on September 25, 2019. Therefore, the Heights will transfer or discharge any inpatients remaining at the hospital by September 25, 2019.
In case of an emergency requiring immediate attention, we have partnered with Acadian Ambulance to provide transport services between the Heights and our main campus. This service will be available through September 25, 2019.
The main St. Joseph Medical Center Emergency Room, located at 1401 St. Joseph Parkway, Houston TX 77002, is just 7 miles from our Heights campus.
Additional emergency room options include: Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center, the Houston Heights Emergency Room, and Memorial Heights. All of these facilities are located within a 5-mile radius of our Heights location.
Steward Health Care remains committed to our patients, and to ensuring the Heights is closed through a safe and efficient process.
Kim Bassett
President, St. Joseph Medical Center