Regional Medical Center announced it will close its trauma center and severe heart-attack services center in August, and will begin downgrading its stroke-care services, citing declining demand.

“We continuously evaluate how Regional Medical Center can best meet our patients' evolving healthcare needs,” the hospital said in an announcement on its website. “After careful consideration, we're making several changes that align with those needs.”

The 250-bed Regional Medical Center, the only hospital in East San Jose, at 225 N. Jackson Ave., will:

• Close its Trauma Center services, “which has witnessed a decline in utilization of our Level II Trauma Center services over the last several years”
• Close its ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) program, “due to decline in utilization of our STEMI program over the last several years.”
• Implement these changes on Aug.12

“We will coordinate a smooth transition for patients with several Bay Area hospital partners who have the appropriate and comprehensive range of services to care for them,” the hospital said. “We are working closely with our medical staff to maintain continuity of care for our patients.”

Regional Medical, along with its sister hospital, the 400-bed Good Samaritan Hospital in West San Jose, is owned by HCA Health Care, a giant 183-hospital system operating in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

A hospital spokesperson said Regional Medical Center, while closing its trauma unit, will expand its emergency services for East San Jose patients.

“We will continue to provide emergency care services to all patients,” the hospital said.

The hospital said there would be few personnel changes. “These changes will affect a small number of our colleagues,” it said in a statement. “We are working with each impacted individual to support next steps for their careers based on their skills, training, and experience.”

*If you are having a medical emergency, please proceed to our emergency department for care,” the hospital said on its website.

It listed additional hospitals that provide trauma care in Santa Clara County: The county-owned Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose and the private Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto.

The closest facilities with STEMI care are: Good Samaritan Hospital, and  El Camino Hospital in Mountain View and O'Connor Hospital in San Jose.