Coronavirus in rural America (Part CLXXIII): More rural hospitals in danger of closing

Kirk Siegler reports for National Public Radio on an expected spate of rural hospital closures.  This isn't really "news" for folks who follow rural health care, but Siegler captured some great quotes and also  explains how the pandemic has weakened these institutions: 

SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:  Public health leaders in rural communities are sounding the alarm. They're warning of more small-town hospital closures looming in the new year, at a time when the omicron variant poses a very real threat. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: When the vaccines became widely available this past summer, rural hospitals like the 10-bed Guadalupe County Hospital in eastern New Mexico raced to put on mass vaccination events and other outreach campaigns.

CHRISTINA CAMPOS: We're older, we're sicker, we're poorer.

SIEGLER: The hospital's administrator, Christina Campos, says that even before the pandemic, hospitals like hers had a hard time meeting all the community's needs.

CAMPOS: You know, if COVID were looking for a place to make a huge impact, it would be a community like ours, and that's why we had to fight back with a huge vaccination effort.

SIEGLER: But by midsummer, vaccination rates in much of rural America plateaued, and soon after, unvaccinated patients overwhelmed small hospitals as the delta variant took hold. Most rural systems aren't set up to handle crisis care, let alone a global pandemic. Well, now there's more anxiety with omicron, especially with rural vaccination rates lagging behind cities. Alan Morgan is CEO of the National Rural Health Association.

ALAN MORGAN: We've asked rural hospitals to serve a function they were never designed to serve, and as a result, it's just crushed our rural health safety net out there.

SIEGLER: Twenty-two small-town hospitals have shuttered since 2020. Most federal relief money for rural hospitals is set to run out early next year, so leaders are pressing the Biden administration and Congress for another round to prevent more closures. This aid has helped pay for everything from temporary COVID isolation wards to overtime for staff to hiring more travel nurses. The outlook for the new year is pretty grim.

Don't miss the rest of the story, with some specifics out of North Dakota, too.  

Postscript:  From Public Radio's Marketplace on January 5, 2022.