Challenges confronting rural hospitals accentuated during COVID-19

Slonim Anthony D.; See Helen; Slonim Sheila

doi:10.7555/JBR.34.20200112

Volume 34 Issue 6

Nov. 2020

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The Journal of Biomedical Research > 2020 > 34(6): 397-409. > DOI: 10.7555/JBR.34.20200112

Slonim Anthony D., See Helen, Slonim Sheila. Challenges confronting rural hospitals accentuated during COVID-19[J]. The Journal of Biomedical Research, 2020, 34(6): 397-409. DOI: 10.7555/JBR.34.20200112

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Challenges confronting rural hospitals accentuated during COVID-19

1.
Renown Health, Reno, NV 89503, USA
2.
Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV 89557, USA
3.
Hospital Operations, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, VA 24017, USA

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Corresponding author:
Anthony D. Slonim, Renown Health, 50 West Liberty Street, Suite 1100, Reno, NV 89503, USA. Tel: +1-775-982-5529, E-mail: ASlonim@Renown.org
Received Date: July 16, 2020
Accepted Date: August 17, 2020
Available Online: September 20, 2020

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Abstract

Abstract

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created a designation for critical access hospitals (CAHs) to sustain care for people living in rural communities who lacked access to care due to hospital closures over the preceding decade. Twenty-five years later, 1350 CAHs serve approximately 18% of the US population and a systematic policy evaluation has yet to be performed. This policy analysis serves to define challenges faced by CAHs through a literature review addressing the four major categories of payment, quality, access to capital, and workforce. Additionally, this analysis describes how current challenges to maintain sustainability of CAHs over time are accentuated by gaps in public health infrastructure and variability in individual health care plans exhibited during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- rural hospitals,
- critical access hospitals,
- COVID-19,
- coronavirus

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References

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