June 30, 2023
Rural Hospitals Face Closure While Solution Awaits Decision
According to the Missouri Hospital Association, an NRHA member, 18 hospitals in Missouri have shut down since 2014. In an effort to prevent more closures, an omnibus bill is currently awaiting a decision from the governor, but help can’t come soon enough. A total of 195 rural hospitals have shut down across the country since 2005, according to Sheps Center for Health Services Research, also an NRHA member. Additionally, stakeholders suggest that cyberattacks present a growing threat to hospitals’ financial viability. NRHA will share CAH-specific strategies to keep facilities open and care accessible to communities at NRHA’s 22nd Critical Access Hospital Conference Sept. 27-29 in Kansas City.