Sustaining Rural Health Care

Sustaining Rural Health Care

Wednesday, August 25 | 12:00 – 1:00 PM CDT

A livestream event (Facebook and YouTube | no registration)

Residents of rural communities fear losing their local hospitals. A deepening crisis in Kansas health care means that more and more places confront this frightening possibility.

At least six rural Kansas hospitals have closed over the past decade, including one in Fort Scott. Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News returned home to Kansas for extensive reporting on the closure for “No Mercy,” Season 1 of KHN’s “Where It Hurts” podcast.

Yet seventy-five of the state’s 99 rural hospitals have been operating in the red. A range of factors — shifting demographics, growing rates of uninsurance, workforce shortages, health-care financing changes and public health challenges — are forcing communities to adapt.

In the Summer edition of The Journal, P.J. Griekspoor reports on a proposal pending in Oberlin, Decatur County’s seat, that offers a potential model for survival. The approach could help hospitals hold on to crucial services such as 24/7 emergency care. But the transition comes with challenges and trade-offs.

Join Journal managing editor Chris Green and a panel of experts for a discussion about the tough questions that must be answered to sustain health care in rural Kansas.

The panel features:

• Sarah Jane Tribble, senior correspondent, Kaiser Health News
• Jennifer Findley, vice president, education and special projects, Kansas Hospital Association
• Kris Mathews, chief operating officer of Decatur Health
• P.J. Griekspoor, Journal contributor

For more information on The Journal, visit klcjournal.com. The print edition featuring the story about the rural emergency hospital model can be purchased at the Kansas Leadership Center’s online store.