COLLEGE STATION – Texas communities facing a rural hospital closure should not solely concentrate on whether or not to close a hospital, but instead focus on the available health resources in the surrounding area. That’s one of the findings of a new report by the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute (RCHI) that examined rural hospital closures and looks at new solutions for rural healthcare concerns. EHF sponsored the report. 

The report found that options like expanding telemedicine, converting a former hospital into a freestanding emergency room, or establishing new rural health clinics are some of the many successful healthcare alternatives available to communities at risk of losing a traditional rural hospital.