America’s rural hospitals have been battling against drivers of instability for more than a decade, but this newest research suggests the crisis has accelerated quickly to previously unseen levels.
In this study, we examine the stability of the rural health safety net, declining access to services, and the potential impact of the new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation.
The results of our latest survey shed light on how rural hospitals are navigating vaccination mandates and the continued impact of nurse staffing shortages on the delivery of care.
This study builds upon our existing research into the stability of the rural health safety net and provides the clearest picture yet of the extent to which the pandemic has impacted rural hospitals and their ability to deliver care within their communities.
The Chartis Center for Rural Health developed a multilevel logistic regression model designed to identify the probability of closure for the nation’s 1,844 open rural hospitals.
Burdened by the rural hospital closure crisis in which more than 130 rural hospitals have ceased operation since 2010, the emergence of COVID-19 threatens to further erode the rural health safety net.
This updated analysis builds upon the findings of our vulnerability study to provide new insight into the stability of the rural health safety net amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delta variant’s surge across rural communities raises important questions about vaccination rate progress and the extent to which staffing challenges are impacting access to care.