During a roundtable live-streamed this week from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, CEOs from Dartmouth Health, Maine Health and The University of Vermont Health Network discussed the crisis facing the nation’s rural hospitals and health systems, from workforce shortages to inflation and payer and regulatory concerns.  
 
"Seventy percent of hospitals nationwide were in the red in 2022, so we're not alone,” said Dartmouth Health CEO and President Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., AHA chair-elect. “In rural America, the challenges are more difficult to navigate, especially in New England where our systems are located, and which has not bounced back like other areas of the country post-COVID. Although the [federal] provider relief funds were crucial and allowed our hospitals and rural hospitals to recover, post-recovery we are facing a host of challenges all at once, led by a persistent healthcare workforce shortage, which affects each of our institutions."  

Related News Articles

Headline
By understanding the attitudes and beliefs that drive patient behavior, health care organizations “can design messaging that promotes positive health outcomes…
Headline
The shortage of behavioral health care professionals is a serious public health issue, particularly in rural areas. In rural Iowa, some care providers have…
Headline
Hear how the results of a community health needs assessment in Hardeman County, Tennessee, spurred local hospitals to tackle food insecurity with innovative…
Headline
Congress should support flexible payment options and update reimbursement rates to help rural hospitals overcome the challenges that threaten access to care in…
Headline
AHA urged leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to give favorable funding…
Headline
More than 1,000 executive leaders from the nation’s top hospitals and health systems convened at the 2023 AHA Annual Membership Meeting, April 23-25 in…