rural hospitals
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18 Hospitals That Closed In 2013
Throughout 2013, 18 acute-care hospitals closed their doors, and there are many others — such as Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Vidant Pungo Hospital in Belhaven, N.C., Lake Shore Health Care Center in Irving, N.Y., and Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital, to name a few — that could follow suit this year. Read More »
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283-Mile March Culminates at U.S. Capitol with Call to Save Rural Hospitals
As Crisis in Rural Healthcare Grows, Unlikely Allies Come Together to Demand Action...The walk, part of a bipartisan effort to stop rural hospital closures, began in Belhaven, N.C., on June 1, and will cover 283 miles, concluding on the Capitol steps, where supporters will urge Congress to pass the Save Rural Hospitals Act. By year’s end, 283 rural hospitals could face closure, costing rural communities 36,000 jobs, $10.6 billion in GDP, and countless lives, according to the National Rural Health Association. Some 62 million Americans rely on rural healthcare.
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Are CMS' Efforts Too Little and Too Late to Save the Collapsing US Rural Healthcare System?
With 35 percent of rural hospitals losing money and almost two-thirds running a negative operating margin, there’s simply no way rural facilities can invest in health IT without help...It’s clear that CMS understands we can’t leave rural hospitals to fend for themselves. But it also seems clear that a lot of hospitals invested in electronic health records (EHRs) they could ill afford to qualify for Meaningful Use funds—dollars that seldom covered implementation costs for solutions that didn’t yield significant cost savings and required additional technical personnel...“The high capital and operating costs associated with health IT, specifically EHRs, have put some hospitals in a difficult position,” wrote Becker’s Hospital CFO in a prescient January 2014 article. “Do they absorb the financial hit now, even if they know they can't afford it? Most organizations are doing so …”
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Critical Access & Small Hospitals Falling Behind in Meaningful Use
A study from Mathematica Policy Research and the American Hospital Association, published in Health Affairs, finds many critical access hospitals and other smaller hospitals are at risk to fail achieving meaningful use and face Medicare payment penalties in 2015. Read More »
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Digital Health Could Seal Fate Of Small Hospitals
I am not a healthcare investment expert by any means, but two recent pieces of news make me wonder if the digital health movement will inadvertently result in the hurried demise of already struggling small and rural hospitals. Read More »
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Health Care Officials: Lack Of Medicaid Expansion Will Put Va. Jobs, Hospitals At Risk
Southwest Virginia health care jobs and rural hospitals will be at risk unless state lawmakers agree to a Medicaid expansion, Wellmont Health System and Mountain States Health Alliance officials warned a room full of business leaders, insurers and government officials Wednesday. Read More »
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Hospital Participation In ACOs To Double In 2014, Survey Says
Premier expects hospital participation in accountable care organizations to double in 2014, according to its fall 2013 Economic Outlook C-suite survey. Premier’s Economic Outlook highlights emerging economic and industry trends impacting alliance members and the industry. Read More »
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Latest Hospital Closing A Blow To Rural Residents
Charlton Memorial Hospital in southeast Georgia, which will suspend operations Friday, is set to become the third rural hospital in the state to close this year. Read More »
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Rural Hospitals Rule On Leapfrog List
For the second consecutive year, rural hospitals stood out, with 22 hospitals making the Leapfrog Group’s 2013 Top Hospitals list – a 69 percent increase from last year. Rounding out the list are 55 urban hospitals and 13 children’s hospitals. [...] Read More »
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Small Town Mayor Leads 283-Mile Walk from North Carolina to D.C. June 1-15 to Protest Potential Closing of 283 Rural Hospitals
In 2015, 283 of America’s rural hospitals face the very real possibly of closing down. To draw attention to a life or death situation for some 62 millionAmericans who rely on rural healthcare, The Walk will begin in Belhaven, North Carolina on June 1 and conclude on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on June 15. The Walk will be led by a most unlikely pair, conservative GOP Mayor Adam O’Neal of Belhaven and Civil Rights legend Bob Zellner, whose purpose is to keep hope alive in the rural town of Belhaven (pop. 1,687) and other small towns across the nation, as well as to encourage Congress to enact legislation to sustain rural hospitals.
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Taking Lessons from the Open Source Movement & Craft Brewers, Doctor Revolutionizing Healthcare
Pioneering doctors are showing the way to a much higher performing system as I highlighted in Doctors' Declaration of Independence. They understand that every example of great societal movements to our toughest challenges have come from the bottom up. The fundamental structure of politics is to cement the status quo. If the status quo was performing well that would be OK, but it's clearly failing miserably. In fact, Chapter 1 of my new book is "America Has Gone to War for Less" (link to free copy of the book below) referring to the collateral damage from this wildly underperforming status quo. Fortunately, doctors are collaborating to change this such as the Direct Primary Care conference starting today in Orlando.
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US Hospitals Facing Financial Squeeze-Mass Closures
In the last year, the profitability of U.S. hospitals eroded for the first time since the Great Recession, pushing some closer to and others over the solvency precipice. Revenues are down and costs are up. And these issues appear systemic and entrenched, giving rise to a series of important and relevant questions: How can hospitals adapt? If they do, will they still survive? And, do we as a nation think it’s important to make hospitals accessible, even if they lose money? Read More »
USDA Announces Investments To Expand Distance Learning And Telemedicine Opportunities In Rural Areas
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Obama Administration is investing in rural telecommunications equipment to help expand access to education, create jobs and improve health care in 25 states. Read More »
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