(AmericanProsperity.com) – Chartis, a Chicago healthcare advisory services firm, has new information concerning multiple rural hospitals that are at risk of closing.
According to the reports, there are about 141 rural hospitals that have closed since 2010, but they said that there are over 450 other hospitals that are “at risk of closure” as well. There are seven states that have the most vulnerability to closures which include Texas, which has the most with 45 hospitals at risk, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi with the least amount at 18.
Over 40% of hospitals in Florida, Tennessee, and Nebraska are at risk for closing. There are a few factors that may be affecting the closing of these hospitals and the risk of closures. Some of these factors include how long a hospital was in business without a profit as well as the revenue that is possible from each patient.
They also look at the annual rate of inpatients as well as nursing staff and employees needed on a daily basis. Many of these rural hospitals still in operation are being forced to cut many of their services such as cancer treatments and maternal care. Nearly half of rural hospitals, 43%, are struggling with a financial deficit.
An emergency department physician in South Carolina, Dr. Kenneth Perry, spoke on the importance of these rural hospitals to the country’s health system because they provide healthcare for those who may not be able to travel to a larger, more upscale hospital.
“There are many patients who do not have access to primary care, but are within close enough proximity to rural hospitals, and obtain most of their care within those hospital systems,” he said.
Many have even spoken out about how a lot of patients could lose all their medical care if these hospitals close down and that many of them rely on rural hospitals for their care especially if they don’t have any health insurance or are relying on Medicaid.
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