A group of Providence Hospital nurses and area residents say they’re worried the center’s impending closures will put services at a “dangerous level” for residents living in the eastern part of the District. Starting Friday, Providence will scale back many of its acute-care services, but its ER will remain open.

The hospital originally planned to shut down both its emergency department and acute-care services this month, but is delaying the closure of its emergency department until April 2019.

The hospital said on Monday that it will keep services to support the emergency room, like labs and respiratory care, but would shut down other acute-care services as planned. It says it will continue offering primary care and outpatient behavioral health services, as well as continue operating its Carroll Manor nursing facility.

At a rally Tuesday outside of the hospital, nurses said that residents east of the Anacostia River still need a “fully-functional hospital.”

Healthcare advocates say residents living in the eastern part of the District already have limited options for care; several hospitals are clustered on the western side of D.C.

“We are not satisfied with what Ascension is doing here. They are offering a small and I think dangerous hospital, potentially,” said Stephen Frum, a labor representative with National Nurses United, the union which represents nurses at Providence.

The emergency department that will remain open will be able to handle “low complexity cases,” said Johnny Smith, a spokesperson for Ascension, the organization which owns Providence Hospital.

“This includes treatment such as urgent and emergent care, low risk chest pain, sprains and strains, sore throat, cuts that may require stitches, cold and flu symptoms, and those that require no admission or a short stay. Those who cannot be attended to at our emergency department will be transferred to another facility,” he said in an emailed statement to WAMU.

Bart Barrows, a registered nurse who’s worked at Providence for more than 30 years, is worried about how the hospital will be able to treat patients who need a higher level of care.

“I’m really scared for the people in this neighborhood and these wards east of the river. They’re really not going to have anywhere to go for their healthcare, and they’re the ones that can afford it the least,” he said.

Barrows said his last day is Friday.

Donna Fleming-Cobey, an ICU nurse at the hospital, is concerned about how the reduction in services will affect people at the Carroll Manor nursing home facility, where her mother is a resident.

“If they become ill, where is my mother going, where is someone else’s mother going?” she said.

Fleming-Cobey’s job will also be eliminated on Friday.

In a statement provided earlier this week, Providence said its decision to keep its emergency room open “reflects its continued commitment to the residents of the District of Columbia.”

“Providence and Ascension remain committed to the District and are pleased to be able to respond to the community need for this extended period,” said Patricia Maryland, CEO of Ascension Healthcare. “We continue to build a new vision for the future and look forward to partnering with key local leaders in collaboratively building those plans.”

As Providence scales back its services, talks of a new hospital in southeast Washington have been put on hold in the meantime.

This story was originally published on WAMU.