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NC study finds three financial indicators that could predict the closure of a rural hospital
Story Date: 1/31/2022
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Source: Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven, NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH NEWS, 1/24/22
Since 2005, 181 rural hospitals across the country have shut their doors permanently — 56 of those between 2017 and 2020. Scholars at the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC Chapel Hill watch the issue closely. Two researchers recently decided to investigate: did the most recent closures have anything in common financially?
The answer they found was a resounding yes. In the year before their closure, most of the now-closed rural hospitals nationwide had low cash on hand, negative operating margins, and negative total margins, compared to rural hospitals that stayed open.
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