Ellwood City Medical Center remains closed to emergency and inpatient services after the Pennsylvania Department of Health discovered “serious violations” Wednesday.

A health department spokesman said that the suspension is meant to be temporary and that the department is working with the medical center's leadership to bring the facility back up to compliance. If the center meets these requirements, it will be permitted to return to normal services, according to the statement. The department wouldn't specify what violations the health facility committed, but under the Health Care Facilities Act, the health department can take action for a serious violations, “which poses a significant threat to the health or safety of patients or residents.”

Under the act, a number of issues can arise which would cause the health department to take action, but the results of the inspection Wednesday are not being made public.

In the meantime, patients are asked to find hospital care at UPMC Jameson, Butler Memorial Hospital or Heritage Valley Beaver.

According to a spokeswoman with Butler Memorial Hospital, they have not noticed an uptick in patient traffic.