A Comparison of Independent and System-Affiliated Rural Hospitals
Rural hospitals play a critical role in ensuring that people living in small towns and remote areas can access essential health care. However, many rural hospitals face ongoing financial pressures, staffing shortages, and declining patient volumes, all of which increase the risk of service cuts or closure. In the brief, A Comparison of Independent and System-Affiliated Rural Hospitals , the NC Rural Health Research Program compares two major types of rural hospitals—independent hospitals, which operate on their own, and system‑affiliated hospitals, which are part of larger health systems—to better understand how their circumstances differ and what these differences mean for rural communities.
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