Alabama is facing a rural healthcare crisis, with several hospitals closing their labor and delivery services or shutting down entirely due to funding shortages, lack of insurance, and doctor shortages. FOX10 Investigates reports on efforts by elected officials to address the issue. At the federal level, Senator Katie Britt is reintroducing the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, which aims to provide training, equipment, and teleconsultation services to rural hospitals. In the state, Representatives Terri Collins and Ed Oliver are sponsoring bills that offer tax credits to donors supporting rural hospitals and to rural physicians, respectively.
) - The rural healthcare crisis in Alabama isn’t going away. Locally, it became evident a little more than a year ago when Monroe County Hospital ended labor and delivery. Then in the last six months, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital was forced to end labor and delivery service and Thomasville Regional Medical Center has since shut down entirely.
According to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, more than half of Alabama’s 52 rural hospitals are currently at risk of closing.At the federal level, Alabama Senator Katie Britt along with Maggie Hassan , Susan Collins , and Tina Smith are reintroducing the “Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act”.
The bill would help rural hospitals and doctors prepare to handle the obstetric emergencies by creating training programs to help non-specialists respond to emergencies like labor and delivery. It would provide federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment. It would also develop a pilot program for teleconsultation services, so that a doctor at a rural facility helping an expecting or postpartum mother facing an emergency can quickly consult with maternal health care experts.
RURAL HEALTHCARE HOSPITAL CLOSURES ALABAMA LEGISLATION DOCTOR SHORTAGES
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