Cullman (Ala.) Regional Medical Center — Alabama’s largest independent rural hospital — is launching an outreach program to help other community hospitals improve financial and operational performance. The outreach program is designed to help rural hospitals add local care services,…
Rural Health
After a brief post-pandemic lull, hospital consolidation is accelerating again, with large health systems expanding across state lines, absorbing independent hospitals and reshaping regional care markets. From portfolio resets and strategic exits to cross-market mergers and billion-dollar investments, these moves…
The wave of maternity service closures has shown no signs of slowing down in 2026. As hospitals continue to grapple with persistent financial pressures, staffing shortages and falling birth rates, more facilities weigh ending labor and delivery services. The closures…
Hawaii will receive $58 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program to bolster the state’s healthcare workforce, purchase new ambulances and upgrade emergency communications systems. Hawaii will distribute $45 million to the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of…
In today’s healthcare environment, technology has become central to delivering high-quality patient care. It influences access, financial sustainability, workforce capacity, regulatory compliance and organizational resilience. That reality is becoming even more apparent as federal policymakers increase their focus on both…
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is sending $93.3 million to Georgia through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to expand telehealth services, advance surgical robotics and modernize rural healthcare access statewide. The funding, according to an Aug. 27…
In an August 17 Becker’s editorial, Bill Bruce, representing the nurse anesthetist trade association, argued that a governor’s decision to exempt a state from Medicare’s physician-supervision requirement for nurse anesthetists — a policy known as opt-out — improves rural anesthesia…
Rural hospitals serve populations with greater need, fewer resources and less margin for error than almost any other type of healthcare institution. The CFOs who steward their finances are making the decisions that keep these organizations financially viable. Through disciplined…
Fifty-four hospitals across 22 states have converted to rural emergency facilities since the law that created the designation took effect in January 2023, according to data from CMS. Here are the hospitals that have converted to rural emergency status, by…
The prevailing debate over HR-1’s Rural Health Transformation Program has centered on what the program won’t deliver. Some rural leaders have raised questions about whether the $50 billion initiative will reach the providers it was designed to support; separate concerns…