'Not just a hospital,' 17 rural ND hospitals operating at a loss

Brad Gibbens grew up in Cando, N.D., where a single hospital provided care for people up to 50 miles away.

That distance may seem unsettling, but in rural North Dakota that’s the norm, said Gibbens, now the deputy director of the Center for Rural Health at UND.

“I grew up in rural North Dakota in a town with a hospital; it basically means everything,” Gibbens said. “It is an access point to care, but also a big part of economic development.”

But, according to Gibbens, rural health care could be jeopardized as many rural hospitals struggle to turn a profit.

Roughly one in five rural hospitals in the nation is in danger of closing due to financial standing, according to a recent study. In North Dakota, that would be devastating for many rural communities, experts on rural health care say. North Dakota has five rural hospitals considered “essential at-risk,” the study indicates. The study does not say where those five hospitals are located.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/business/healthcare/1008745-‘Not-just-a-hospital-17-rural-ND-hospitals-operating-at-a-loss