Worry over the shutdown of the clinic in Franken, leaving the entire region without emergency care services?
The Haßberg Clinics have announced the closure of Ebern Hospital in Bavaria, Germany, by the end of the year. The decision, which has sparked protests in the region, comes as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at maintaining overall healthcare quality.
The management of the Haßberg Clinics has outlined multiple specific reasons for the closure, though none were explicitly stated in their press release. Economic and structural challenges, persistent staffing shortages, changing healthcare requirements, and a consolidation strategy to centralize resources have been identified as contributing factors.
Despite the closure, some services will continue at the hospital's premises. The departments of internal medicine and palliative care, led by Dr. med. Ulrich Wagner and Mrs. Manana Aladashvili respectively, will remain operational on the ground floor. The department of internal medicine with 50 beds will be relocated to the Haßfurt site by December 31, 2025. The palliative care team will move to Haßfurt by November 1.
In addition, the short-term care facility is being implemented in the former hospital rooms, with plans for operation by BRK in 2026 after renovation and renovation work on the second floor of the Ebern hospital.
The closure of Ebern Hospital is part of a comprehensive medical strategy and vision for 2030, developed by the Haßberg Clinics in November 2024. The strategy is a response to the increasing outpatient treatment in the healthcare system, as well as the need for more specialized treatment capacities and structural changes required by the hospital reform.
Meanwhile, the gynecology & obstetrics practice in MVZ Eltmann is expanding its offer in the medical care center (MVZ) Ebern as of August 4, 2025. The practice will offer appointments for new patients after the summer holidays.
Elsewhere in the region, the Diakoneo Clinic in Schwabach has filed for insolvency, and its future remains uncertain.
Protests against the closure of Ebern Hospital have been ongoing, with the action group "Stop Hospital Deaths in Bavaria" criticizing the decision. The concerns about local medical care are a significant issue, as the building in Ebern will be converted into a specialist and nursing center after the closure.
In the midst of these changes, the Haßberg Clinics remain committed to ensuring the best possible care for their patients, even as they adapt to the evolving landscape of healthcare in Bavaria.
In the broader scope of healthcare restructuring, science and health-and-wellness are integral to the Haßberg Clinics' strategy for Ebern Hospital's closure, as they aim to increase outpatient treatment, develop more specialized treatment capacities, and address structural changes required by the hospital reform. Meanwhile, despite the closure, some medical-conditions focused services will continue at the hospital, such as the internal medicine department relocating to Haßfurt by 2025 and the palliative care team moving there by November 1.
