Source: Travis Fain, WRAL, 7/2/19

 A state-funded loan program for struggling rural hospitals easily passed the state Senate Tuesday. Senate Bill 681 sets up a revolving fund of low-interest loans to help rural hospitals overhaul their operations, in part to make them more attractive to larger hospital groups that might want to buy them. The measure comes from Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, who has pitched it as a way for hospitals with oversized and outdated facilities to right-size. The first candidate for one of these loans is likely to be Randolph Hospital in Asheboro.

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