--- title: A Crisis in Rural Health Care description: A crisis in rural healthcare. Community Infusion Solutions develops outpatient infusion programs designed to expand service lines for rural hospitals. image: https://blog.communityiv.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/rural-australia-1.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/a-crisis-in-rural-health-care#main-content) Flexible HubSpot Theme Flexible HubSpot Theme [![Infusion Services Consulting for Rural Hospitals](https://blog.communityiv.com/hs-fs/hubfs/community-infusion-solutions-logo-250x140.png?width=250&height=140&name=community-infusion-solutions-logo-250x140.png)](https://npws.net) - [Home](https://communityiv.com/) - [Who We Are](https://communityiv.com/about/) - [What We Do](https://communityiv.com/services/) - [Financials](https://communityiv.com/service/financials/) - [Infusion Site Development](https://communityiv.com/service/infusion-suite-development/) - [Logistics](https://communityiv.com/service/logistics/) - [Resources](https://communityiv.com/service/resources/) - [Testimonials](https://communityiv.com/case-studies/) - [Blog](https://blog.communityiv.com/main) - [Contact Us](https://communityiv.com/contact/) - [Home](https://communityiv.com/) - [Who We Are](https://communityiv.com/about/) - [What We Do](https://communityiv.com/services/) - [Financials](https://communityiv.com/service/financials/) - [Infusion Site Development](https://communityiv.com/service/infusion-suite-development/) - [Logistics](https://communityiv.com/service/logistics/) - [Resources](https://communityiv.com/service/resources/) - [Testimonials](https://communityiv.com/case-studies/) - [Blog](https://blog.communityiv.com/main) - [Contact Us](https://communityiv.com/contact/) Search [Back to Blog](https://blog.communityiv.com/main) [Rural Health](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/tag/rural-health) [Public Health](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/tag/public-health) [Rural Healthcare Needs](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/tag/rural-healthcare-needs) # A Crisis in Rural Health Care [Community Infusion Solutions](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/author/community-infusion-solutions) Dec 16, 2019 4:28:50 PM 1 minute read   The reasons are numerous, but the result is the same: A crisis in rural health care. That’s the inescapable conclusion from two pieces of related news last week. The first is the report of a study by the University of Minnesota that rural mothers face a 9% greater risk of life-threatening complications or deaths from childbirth, compared with mothers in urban area. The second was the announcement by Mayo Clinic that it plans to close its hospital and emergency room in Springfield, in southwestern Minnesota, effective March 1. Mayo officials have talked for a few years now about the difficulty of maintaining sufficient staff at some of its facilities in smaller communities. That was one of the reasons for the reduction of services at the hospital in Albert Lea. In a statement about the Springfield closure, Mayo said the hospital there "has experienced several challenges, including an inability to recruit and retain physicians, declining hospital admissions and extremely low use of the emergency department." Across the Midwest, rural communities are struggling to maintain hospitals and clinics for similar reasons. Is there a correlation between reduced care options and statistics such as those in the U of M study about childbirth risks in rural areas? It's difficult for the average person not to draw that conclusion. In the past decade at least a dozen hospitals in smaller Minnesota communities have stopped scheduling baby deliveries. Those communities can also face a shortage of prenatal care. In some cases, hospitals have or are considering closing their obstetrics departments due to the risks involved in dangerous deliveries. All of this is part of the complicated state of America's health care system -- a system that clearly does not offer all citizens an equal level of care. "Geography affects maternal health risks," one of the U researchers said.   [Read Full Story Here](https://www.brainerddispatch.com/opinion/editorials/4822286-Other-Opinion-Rural-health-care-reaching-a-crisis-stage)   ## Related Posts ### [Should your Hospital Have an Outpatient Infusion Center? “In about 70 to 80 percent of the hospitals we analyze, there is a distinct opportunity to put an... Community Infusion Solutions Jun 16, 2022 8:26:22 AM 5 minute read](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/should-your-hospital-have-an-outpatient-infusion-center) ### [Nonprofit is Working to Lower the Sky-High Cost of Health Care Health care costs in Summit County are among the highest in the country. Community Infusion Solutions Mar 9, 2020 7:47:30 AM 1 minute read](https://blog.communityiv.com/main/nonprofit-is-working-to-lower-the-sky-high-cost-of-health-care) ### [Reinvigorating Rural Health Declining populations, physician shortages and high unemployment rates are among the many elements... 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