Shriners Hospitals for Children plans to close an orthopedic hospital in Tampa that shifted to outpatient-only care in 2019, Tampa Bay Times reported Feb. 3.
Shriners Children's Florida has provided musculoskeletal care at the University of South Florida site since 1985. Shriners said it will partner with another provider to offer those services beginning April 1.
The closure will result in layoffs for most of the outpatient hospital's staff, according to the report. The facility employs fewer than 100 staff, who have been notified about the closure.
Operating a clinic that only offered specialty care made it "challenging to deliver care efficiently," Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower told the Times.
Shriners decided it could treat more children in more places by partnering with another provider.