I’ve spent two decades reporting from places where women give birth without reliable access to a hospital — Sudan, Afghanistan, rural India. I never expected to be writing that same sentence about Kansas. But here we are.
A similar situation faces expectant mothers in dozens of states, where the local labor and delivery unit has either shut down or is one bad budget year away from it. A new analysis from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that 720 rural hospitals — just under a third of all rural facilities nationwide — were at risk of closure as of May. Of those, 294 were in immediate jeopardy. A follow-up count in July put the number at roughly 700, with just over 260 in immediate danger.
That dip should not read as good news. Fewer hospitals “at risk” often just means fewer hospitals still standing to be counted.
Here is what is at stake.
