A new kind of hospital is coming to rural America. To qualify, facilities must close their beds

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As rural hospitals continue to struggle financially, a new type of hospital is slowly taking root, especially in the Southeast. Rural emergency hospitals receive more than $3 million in federal funding a year and higher Medicare reimbursements in exchange for closing all inpatient beds and providing 24/7 emergency care. While that makes it easier for a hospital to keep its doors open, experts say it doesn’t solve all of the challenges facing rural health care. People might have to travel further for treatments for illnesses that require inpatient stays, like pneumonia or COVID-19. In some of the communities where hospitals have converted to the new designation, residents are confused about what kind of care they can receive. Plus, rural hospitals are hesitant to make the switch, because there’s no margin of error. “It’s ironic” that the facilities that might need the most help can’t afford to take the risk, said Carrie Cochran-McClain, chief policy officer at the National Rural Health Association. She pointed to having to give up certain services and benefits, such as a federal discount program for prescription drugs. Nebraska’s first rural emergency hospital opened in February in a city called Friend. Though residents expressed concerns at a September town hall about closing inpatient services, the importance of having emergency care outweighed other worries. “We have farmers and ranchers and people who don’t have the time to drive an hour to get care, so they’ll just go without,” said Ron Te Brink, co-CEO and chief information officer. “Rural health care is so extremely important to a lot of Nebraska communities like ours.” “If my intuition is correct, it will probably work well for some communities and it may not work well for others,” said Hospital CEO Dr. Kenneth Williams. Cochran-McClain said her organization is trying to work with Congress to change regulations that have been a barrier for rural facilities, like closing inpatient behavioral health beds that are already scarce. As Quinten Whitwell, the CEO of Irwin County Hospital, sees it: “As this program evolves, there will be more people that I think will understand the value.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.