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Photo Gallery: The last week of Glenn County’s only hospital

The final patient, Theresa McNabb, 74, is pushed down the hallway on closing day at Glenn Medical Center on Oct. 21.
The final patient, Theresa McNabb, 74, is pushed down the hallway on closing day at Glenn Medical Center on Oct. 21.
Christina House. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
By Christina House
Staff Photographer Follow

The Glenn Medical Center has been a health hub in the Northern California town of Willows since 1950. It closed on Oct. 21. It is one of a string of rural hospitals nationwide that have recently been shut down — or are at risk of closure — because of a change in federal reimbursements and demographic trends.

For nurses, doctors, administrators and the final patient, the shuttering of the hospital was a tearful moment. Babies were born here. Loved ones were saved. Now people in Willows feel even more isolated, with many facing much longer journeys for emergency care and treatments for chronic illnesses.

Registered nurse Ronald Loewen, 74, looks out the window
Registered nurse Ronald Loewen, 74, looks out the window on closing day at Glenn Medical Center. Loewen, who grew up and attended school in Willows, had four children delivered at Glenn Medical. Two of them survived. He says the hospital closing is “a piece of our history gone.”
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
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A customer walks into Willows Hardware store
A customer walks into Willows Hardware store the week before the closure of Glenn County’s only hospital.
Physical therapy assistant Louis Abe, left, does balance work with patient
Physical therapy assistant Louis Abe, left, does balance work with patient Theresa McNabb, 74. McNabb said of the closure, “It’s sad to me. It’s just been such a pleasant experience here.”

1

A festive calendar at the nurses station

2

Rita Robledo speaks with one of the few remaining patients

3

Kellie Amaru reacts after watching a co-worker leave

4

The Willows Fire Department and an ambulance respond

1. A festive calendar at the nurses station inside Glenn Medical Center a few days before closing. 2. Activities coordinator Rita Robledo, who has worked for Glenn Medical Center for 16 years, speaks with one of the few remaining patients Richard Putnam, 86, right. 3. Kellie Amaru, a licensed vocational nurse who has worked at the center for four years, reacts to a co-worker leaving after their final shift. 4. The Willows Fire Department respond to a patient.

Registered nurse Courtney Holloway, left, and LVN Kellie Amaru, right, share a laugh at the nurses station
Registered nurse Courtney Holloway, left, and LVN Kellie Amaru, right, share a laugh at the nurses station at Glenn Medical Center in its final days.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Willows High School JV football teammates celebrate their Homecoming game
Willows High School football teammates celebrate their homecoming game win against Durham at Willows High School on Oct. 17.

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The press box at Willows High School's football field

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Cheerleaders perform during Willows High School's Homecoming JV football game

1. The press box at Willows High School’s football field is decorated with previous Northern Section CIF Championship wins during a Homecoming game against Durham at Willows High School in Glenn County on October 17, 2025. 2. Cheerleaders perform during Willows High School’s Homecoming JV football game against Durham at Willows High School in Glenn County on October 17, 2025.

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The Willows Fire Department and an ambulance respond to Glenn Medical Center
The Willows Fire Department and an ambulance respond to Glenn Medical Center when a patient’s status changed on October 18, 2025.
Empty rooms are seen in the foreground as Director of Nursing Brittny Mundy organizes the remaining hospital supplies
Empty rooms are seen in the foreground as Director of Nursing Brittny Mundy organizes remaining hospital supplies on the day after Glenn Medical Center closed.
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Christina House

Christina House is a staff photojournalist with the Los Angeles Times. She joined the visual journalism team in 2017 after 10 years as a freelance photographer. House won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Domestic Photography for “Hollywood’s Finest,” an intimate look into the life of a pregnant 22-year-old woman living on the street. She received the 2021 Cliff Edom New America Award and was honored for her work on “Game Changers: A Celebration of Women in Sports” from the 2021 National Press Photographers Assn.’s Best of Photojournalism awards.

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