Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Closures of healthcare facilities and services
Rx for the Rural Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care
Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Obstetrics: U.S. Rural Hospitals
Infographic presenting statistics on obstetrics care in rural community hospitals in the U.S. Includes data on the number of births in rural hospitals, rural hospitals without obstetrics units, obstetric unit closures, and the number of women of reproductive age who live in maternity care deserts.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Infographic presenting statistics on obstetrics care in rural community hospitals in the U.S. Includes data on the number of births in rural hospitals, rural hospitals without obstetrics units, obstetric unit closures, and the number of women of reproductive age who live in maternity care deserts.
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Rural Quality of Life: Opportunities and Challenges for the Rural Care Economy
Recording of a March 22, 2022, hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on challenges and opportunities for the care economy in rural communities. Features testimony from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development, the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, and Southeast Health Group, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in rural La Junta, Colorado.
Additional links: Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center - Testimony, Joseph Carrica, Southeast Health Group - Testimony
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
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Recording of a March 22, 2022, hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on challenges and opportunities for the care economy in rural communities. Features testimony from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development, the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, and Southeast Health Group, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) in rural La Junta, Colorado.
Additional links: Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center - Testimony, Joseph Carrica, Southeast Health Group - Testimony
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
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Federally Qualified Health Center Strategies for Coping with Hospital Closure: Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK)
Describes how the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK), a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) took over two Mercy Hospital Fort Scott primary care clinics when the hospital closed in 2018. Explores CHC/SEK's response to the hospital's closure, the subsequent economic impact on the community, and lessons learned for rural FQHCs in similar situations.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Describes how the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK), a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) took over two Mercy Hospital Fort Scott primary care clinics when the hospital closed in 2018. Explores CHC/SEK's response to the hospital's closure, the subsequent economic impact on the community, and lessons learned for rural FQHCs in similar situations.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Capital Link
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Chartis Center for Rural Health Research & Resources for the 2022 National Rural Health Association's Rural Health Policy Institute Conference
Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year and presentation slides on this report from the 2022 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Offers research and analysis of the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Includes Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year and presentation slides on this report from the 2022 National Rural Health Association Policy Institute. Provides links to national and state data tables showing the financial impact of federal policies on rural hospitals.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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The Problem Of The Color Line: Spatial Access To Hospital Services For Minoritized Racial And Ethnic Groups
Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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Study examining healthcare access by race and geography, covering distances to hospital services for minoritized ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZTCAs). Discusses factors that lead to disparities in access for rural minority communities, including policy, rural hospital closures, and safety-net program issues.
Additional links: Story Map: The Problem Of The Color Line
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 41(2), 237-246
Date: 02/2022
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Rural Hospitals that Closed between 2017‐20: Profitability and Liquidity in the Year Before Closure
Examines the pre-closure profitability and liquidity performance of 56 rural hospitals that closed between January 2017 and August 2020. Compares this data to the median performance of rural hospitals that remained open each year.
Author(s): Andrew S. Osgood, George H. Pink
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Examines the pre-closure profitability and liquidity performance of 56 rural hospitals that closed between January 2017 and August 2020. Compares this data to the median performance of rural hospitals that remained open each year.
Author(s): Andrew S. Osgood, George H. Pink
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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An Enhanced Method for Identifying Hospital-Based Obstetric Unit Status
Results of a study using data from American Hospital Association annual surveys from 2010-2018 to conduct single- and multi-year assessments of obstetric unit status and to identify closures of obstetric units. Compares results obtained through the enhanced method with results of a survey sample of rural hospitals with obstetric units open at the time of the assessment and those with recently closed units.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Caitlin Carroll, Sara C. Handley, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Results of a study using data from American Hospital Association annual surveys from 2010-2018 to conduct single- and multi-year assessments of obstetric unit status and to identify closures of obstetric units. Compares results obtained through the enhanced method with results of a survey sample of rural hospitals with obstetric units open at the time of the assessment and those with recently closed units.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Caitlin Carroll, Sara C. Handley, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Provider and Patient Perspectives on Labor and Delivery Unit Closures in Rural New Hampshire
Explores how the closure of labor and delivery units in New Hampshire has impacted the providers and patients in the affected communities. Describes the top reasons for labor and delivery unit closures among five hospitals, staffing challenges, and the effect of closures on prenatal and postpartum care for women in the community. Presents recommendations to ensure access to safe and secure pregnancies and deliveries after closures.
Author(s): Sarah Benatar, Stacey McMorrow, Timothy J. Fisher
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Explores how the closure of labor and delivery units in New Hampshire has impacted the providers and patients in the affected communities. Describes the top reasons for labor and delivery unit closures among five hospitals, staffing challenges, and the effect of closures on prenatal and postpartum care for women in the community. Presents recommendations to ensure access to safe and secure pregnancies and deliveries after closures.
Author(s): Sarah Benatar, Stacey McMorrow, Timothy J. Fisher
Date: 12/2021
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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For-profit Hospitals as Anchor Institutions in the United States: A Study of Organizational Stability
Examines whether for-profit hospitals are stable enough to fulfill the role of long-standing anchor institutions through a long-term presence in communities. Analyzes if for-profit hospitals had higher odds of closing and merging, and discusses the potential economic contributions of for-profit anchor institution hospitals to the surrounding community. Includes statistics by hospital characteristics, including rural location, and a discussion of rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin, Vanessa Rodriguez, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 21
Date: 12/2021
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Examines whether for-profit hospitals are stable enough to fulfill the role of long-standing anchor institutions through a long-term presence in communities. Analyzes if for-profit hospitals had higher odds of closing and merging, and discusses the potential economic contributions of for-profit anchor institution hospitals to the surrounding community. Includes statistics by hospital characteristics, including rural location, and a discussion of rural hospital closures.
Author(s): Berkeley Franz, Cory E. Cronin, Vanessa Rodriguez, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 21
Date: 12/2021
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