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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…
For Sutter North Medical Group, the math of rural healthcare in California is challenging. Travel north or west from Yuba City, and commercial insurance coverage drops precipitously — from roughly 40% of patients to 20% or below. The populations that…
For millions of Americans living in rural communities, access to care is no longer something they can take for granted. Hospitals are closing, maternity wards are disappearing, and patients are traveling farther for surgeries and specialty care that were once…
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…
The Maryland Department of Health awarded $80 million to 41 grantees in the first round of funding under the Rural Health Transformation Program, Gov. Wes Moore announced Aug. 10. The awards fund projects to expand primary care, behavioral health and…
Healthcare and social assistance job openings fell by 147,000 in June, the largest single-month decline for the sector in nearly a year, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Aug. 4. The drop brought healthcare and…
Innovation Under Pressure. 7 ways rural leaders are turning constraint into tech-driven advantage
Rural healthcare leaders are turning resource limits into a sharper lens for technology investment. As federal initiatives like the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program infuse rural health systems with new capital, the organizations seeing the most impact are not…
Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services launched a public dashboard July 30 tracking the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program funding. Six notes: 1. The agency built the tool to show stakeholders and the public how transformation program dollars are…
When I read the recent Becker’s Hospital Review brief, “Rural hospital CEO sees ‘no hope in the rural health transformation funds,’” I understood the frustration behind the headline. For decades, rural hospitals have been asked to do more with less.…