Washington state nurses urge judge to keep hospital open

Nurses at Astria Health's hospital in Yakima, Wash., are urging a bankruptcy court judge to reconsider the hospital's closure, according to the union that represents them.

The Washington State Nurses Association's emergency motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington claims that the court's Jan. 8 decision allowing Astria Health to close Astria Regional Medical Center in Yakima "will have a profound negative impact on the community that the medical center serves, depriving local residents of a trauma center that provides emergency care to those in urgent need."