Public Health Deserts Are Expanding in Rural America
In February 2019, Oswego Community Hospital, a 12-bed Critical Access Hospital in southeast Kansas, pictured above, abruptly closed. The organization cited financial instability arising from low reimbursement rates and high volumes of uninsured patients as factors contributing to its closure. This closure exposed how fragile rural health infrastructure has become. When a rural hospital closes , headlines tend to focus on abandoned emergency rooms and extended ambulance routes. Far less...
