Helping Rural Hospitals Meet Their Mission of Caring for Patients and Communities

Nov. 20 is National Rural Health Day. It’s an opportunity to recognize the many ways rural hospitals advance health in their communities, as well as raise awareness about the challenges they face as they seek to preserve access to high-quality, affordable care.

For nearly 1 in 5 Americans, rural hospitals are beacons of hope and sources of healing for individuals and families who would otherwise face long, time-consuming journeys to access the care they need. Rural hospitals also promote community well-being and help preserve the vitality of rural America.

In addition to being a source of great medical care, rural hospitals are critical economic and social pillars of their communities for more than 61 million Americans. Among other benefits, rural hospitals provide $220 billion in economic activity annually. They also support 1 in 12 rural jobs in the U.S., buy goods and services from local businesses, and work with community partners to make life better for the people they serve.

However, many rural care providers are facing serious challenges right now. They are the same difficulties shared by many hospitals — including financial stress, workforce shortages, and inadequate reimbursement from government payers like Medicare and Medicaid, just to name a few.

Moreover, rural hospitals face other unique challenges. For example, they often handle lower patient volumes, making it harder to support essential health services; face higher operating costs for supplies and transportation; and must work harder to recruit and retain health care professionals. Only about 9% of the nation’s physicians practice in rural areas, which are often designated as health professional shortage areas.

Despite these many serious challenges, rural hospitals are responding with resilience and innovation, implementing bold new ideas and forging community partnerships to leverage their resources even as they deliver quality care to their patients and communities in developing creative networks of caring.

The AHA continues to create and share resources to help rural hospitals and health systems address today’s challenges. These include strategies and best practices for expanding access to mental and physical health care, improving maternal health outcomes, alleviating staffing shortages, and more.

Aligned with National Rural Health Day, the AHA has released a new toolkit: that offers social media posts and images for rural hospitals and health systems to share on their digital communication channels leading up to Nov. 20. The many ways that rural hospitals sustain and support their communities also will be a focus of next year’s AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, held Feb. 8-11 in San Antonio.  

Just this week, Congress passed legislation that, among other provisions, would extend to Jan. 30, 2026, the Medicare-dependent hospital and low-volume adjustment programs that support rural hospitals, telehealth waivers, and add-on payments that support rural ambulance services, as well as delay funding cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program. The AHA will continue to work with Congress to preserve these and other programs that support rural hospitals and advocate for policies that protect access to care, advance innovation and invest in new resources for rural communities. 

America’s rural care providers have forged a special bond with the people and communities they serve. The AHA is committed to doing all it can to help these essential cornerstones of their communities maintain the crucial services that people need and deserve.