SHAWNEE, Kan. — Saint Luke’s Health System plans to close two community hospital locations in Johnson County by the end of the year.

Saint Luke’s will close its community hospitals in Olathe (135th Street and Black Bob Road) and Shawnee (Shawnee Mission Parkway and Lackman Road). The two locations will still offer emergency care until Dec. 23, but inpatient care will close before that.

Employees impacted by the hospitals closing will have opportunities to stay with Saint Luke’s, the health system said in a news release. Saint Luke’s did not disclose how many employees are affected.

Saint Luke’s said the closures are part of a “strategic plan” to focus on higher volume locations and to keep providing high-quality emergency care where there is demand.

Saint Luke’s started opening community hospitals in 2018 to combat overcrowded emergency rooms at the KC area’s largest hospitals. Bobby Olm-Shipman, Saint Luke’s south and east region CEO, said the locations have been “incredibly well-received by patients.”

“We want to make sure we are focusing on the locations experiencing the highest demand so we can serve our patients where they need us most,” Olm-Shipman said.

But these aren’t the first locations Saint Luke’s has closed in recent years. In 2020, the health system closed two community hospitals in Overland Park: one at 75th Street and Metcalf Avenue and another at 159th Street and 69 Highway.

Saint Luke’s also closed Cushing Hospital in Leavenworth in 2020, due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health system now has three community hospitals that will remain open:

• Leawood – 132nd Street and State Line Road
• The Legends in KCK – 106th Street and Parallel Parkway
• Roeland Park – Johnson Drive and Roe Avenue