Rural Americans live an average 10.5 miles or 17 minutes from the nearest hospital, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center. That’s about twice as far and five to seven minutes longer than people in suburban and urban areas, respectively, with the quarter of rural Americans with the longest times averaging 34 minutes. “These findings come amid a wave of rural hospital closures in recent years that have raised concerns about access to health care,” the authors note. The AHA last year released a series of guides to help hospital and health system board members and leaders implement nine emerging strategies to preserve access to health care services in vulnerable communities, based on findings from an AHA Task Force report. The AHA's 2019 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, Feb. 3-6 in Phoenix, will bring together top practitioners and thinkers to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more integrated and sustainable rural health system.

Related News Articles

Headline
The House Ways and Means Committee today advanced its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill by a 26-19 vote along party lines, following an hours…
Headline
The House Ways and Means Committee May 13 began to mark up its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill, with some proposals impacting the health…
Headline
A study published March 31 by the National Institutes of Health found that adults living in rural areas have worse cardiovascular health than those in urban…
Chairperson's File
Public
Rural hospitals and health systems face big challenges, but together — with a unified voice — we can work to ensure people living in rural communities get the…
Headline
John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, and Justin Spelhaug, corporate vice president and global head of Tech for Social Impact at…
Chairperson's File
Public
I’ve often said that rural health care is about family. We take care of each other and our communities as best as possible. Rural hospitals and health systems…