Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Closures of healthcare facilities and services

Hospital Closures and the Current Healthcare Climate: The Future of Rural Hospitals in the USA
Discusses impact of Affordable Care Act on rural hospitals, including financial considerations, and explores steps that may be taken in order to ensure that these facilities remain open.
Author(s): Soma Balasubramanian, Erick Jones
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 16(3), 3935
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
view details
A Look at Rural Hospital Closures and Implications for Access to Care: Three Case Studies
Presents case studies of three rural hospital closures from 2015 in Kansas, Kentucky, and South Carolina. Explores impact of closures on access to care and the economy of local communities.
Author(s): Jane Wishner, Patricia Solleveld, Robin Rudowitz, Julia Paradise, Larisa Antonisse
Date: 07/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Minutes, Beaufort, South Carolina, April 18-20, 2016
Provides a summary of the 79th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Beaufort, South Carolina. The meeting focused on two main topics: alternative models to preserving access to emergency care in rural areas in the face of hospital closures and the abuse of prescription painkillers and opioids.
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
view details
Alabama General Hospital Closures Since 1980
County-level map showing general hospitals that closed and were not replaced within two years.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Rural Health Association
view details
Geographic Variation in Risk of Financial Distress among Rural Hospitals
Discusses the geographic variation in the number of rural hospitals predicted to be at high risk for closure in 2015 as assigned by the Financial Distress Index (FDI) model. The FDI model uses existing hospital financial performance, government reimbursement, and organizational and market characteristics to determine risk levels associated with financial distress.
Author(s): Brystana Kaufman, Regina Rutledge, George Pink, Mark Holmes
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Prediction of Financial Distress among Rural Hospitals
Explains the concept of the Financial Distress Index (FDI), which seeks to predict and analyze financial distress among rural hospitals. Examines the predictive ability of the FDI by scoring rural hospitals using financial data from previous years' cost reports.
Author(s): Brystana Kaufman, George Pink, Mark Holmes
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
Estimated Costs of Rural Freestanding Emergency Departments
Provides an overview of the rural freestanding emergency department (RFED) model as a feasible alternative for hospitals at risk of closure, or preparing for closure, to keep emergency services within the rural community.
Author(s): J. Dunc Williams, Paula H. Song, George H. Pink
Date: 11/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
view details
The Economic Impact of Recent Hospital Closures on Rural Communities
Estimates the direct and secondary economic impacts of hospital closures on rural communities, focusing on labor (wages, salaries, benefits) and employment (jobs) income. Uses data collected from 16 hospitals representing 13 states that have closed since 2010, of which 9 were designated as Critical Access Hospitals.
Author(s): Fred C Eilrich, Gerald A. Doeksen, Cheryl F. St. Clair
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Rural Health Works
view details
The Business of Rural Hospital Closures
Discusses how rural hospitals can stay viable in difficult times, with insights from Charles Owens, executive director of the Georgia Department of Community Health, State Office of Rural Health.
Author(s): Kate Menzies
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Statement by Tim Wolters, Citizens Memorial Hospital and Lake Regional Health System, before the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies
Testimony presented at a May 7, 2015 Labor-HHS Subcommittee hearing on rural health. Discusses the impact rural hospitals have on their communities and the challenges rural Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals face that make them vulnerable to cuts in Medicare reimbursement.
Author(s): Tim Wolters
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Appropriations
view details