Rural communities are facing a crisis that, while quiet, is threatening millions. As hospitals in these communities close and services are cut, many Americans are losing access to quality health care.
Since 2010, more than 80 rural hospitals have shuttered. The National Rural Health Association, a non-profit that advocates for rural issues, estimates that there are as many as 700 more rural hospitals at risk of closing in the next 10 years. Just last month, the county commissioners of Decatur County, Tennessee, voted to close the county hospital. And even in cases where these hospitals stay afloat, critical services end up being axed. Often, obstetric services are atop the chopping block: between 2004 to 2014, 9 percent of all rural counties lost access to hospital obstetric services.
