The University of North Carolina Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research Identifies Five Previously Unreported Rural Hospital Closures

The University of North Carolina Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research Identifies Five Previously Unreported Rural Hospital Closures

October 15, 2019


The University of North Carolina Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research has recently updated their tool tracking the number of rural hospital closures to include five previously unreported closures. The newly identified closures bring the total to 118 rural hospital closures since 2010 – not the previously reported 113 closures. This update means the rural hospital closure crisis is worse than previously reported and demands action from Congress. In 2019 alone, though the year isn’t over, there have been more closures than any other full year in the last decade. NRHA is strongly encouraging the Senate Finance Committee to pass a rural health package to provide much needed relief to rural providers, and we welcome your help in advocating for rural solutions. Help us make your voice louder; contact Mason Zeagler, NRHA’s Gov. Affairs Communications Coordinator, at mzeagler@nrharural.org to learn more about how you can advocate with us!