Hospitals Getting Hard To Find In Rural America

03:51

September 23, 2015

The hospital in Douglas, Arizona, went through several CEOs and bankruptcies before it finally closed in July 2015. Now, the nearest hospital is in Bisbee, about 20 minutes away. (Kate Sheehy/Fronteras Desk)

Rural communities are losing more and more of their hospitals. Fifty-seven rural hospitals have closed over the last five years across the country, and nearly 300 more are on the brink of shutting down.

The town of Douglas, on the Arizona-Mexico border, recently lost its hospital and the ripple effect is evident: jobs were lost, emergency services were overwhelmed and people worried about their safety.

Kate Sheehy, from the Fronteras Desk at Here & Now contributor KJZZ, reports.

Read more via the Fronteras Desk

Reporter

Kate Sheehy, a reporter at the Fronteras Desk at KJZZ. She tweets @khsheehy.

This segment aired on September 23, 2015.