Thirty-three hospitals in Oklahoma have shuttered because of financial strain since 2007. A dozen were in rural communities such as Frederick, Pauls Valley and Clinton, according to state Department of Health data. Since 2021, two Oklahoma facilities have chosen the federal safety net known as a Rural Emergency Hospital license in hopes of staying open.
In this week’s Long Story Short, Lionel Ramos details some of the issues facing rural hospitals and the government program designed to help struggling health facilities.
