‘Just sitting there silent’: Sturgis Hospital closure impact goes beyond loss of health care
Former patients now have to travel farther to access hospital care. But residents and experts say the impact of such a closure goes beyond inconvenience. The loss of a rural hospital can exacerbate barriers to health care, even to the point of endangering lives. It can dent the economies of entire communities. Perhaps most devastatingly, a rural hospital closure leaves emotional scars for the residents and care workers who relied on it as a place of comfort, connectedness, and safety.
