People in Fort Scott, Kan., depended on their local hospital for more than a century. In December, the hospital closed. Fort Scott residents now are trying to cope with life without it.
Celina, Tenn., has long lured retirees, with its scenic hills and affordability. These newcomers help fuel the local economy. But a recent hospital closure makes the town a harder sell.
A rural county in Washington declared the opioid epidemic a life-threatening emergency. They use a multi-agency coordination group straight out of FEMA's playbook to respond to the crisis.
Meth is back "with a vengeance," police say. Now made mostly by superlabs in Mexico, it is stronger, cheaper and more prevalent, cutting across demographic barriers and sparking serious crime.
Eight of the top ten states with the highest suicide rates are in the Mountain West. Grand Junction, Colo. has launched an ambitious effort starting in the schools to try and address the problem.
For the first time in years, Delta County in western Colorado is experiencing population growth, one indicator that rural Americans are increasingly feeling optimistic about their economic future.
What's on people's minds in rural America? A new poll shows that the addiction crisis and economic issues have people worried. But many retain an upbeat outlook about the future of their communities.
After 130 years as a nonprofit hospital with deep roots in North Carolina, Mission Health is seeking to be bought by HCA Healthcare, the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain.
Management consultants have been buying up struggling rural hospitals, claiming they can turn their finances around. But are those strategies in the hospitals' best interest?
Hospitals have long been linchpins of rural communities, providing jobs as well as health care. But policy analysts say some hospitals may have to change or close to better serve rural health needs.
Hundreds of thousands of people gained health insurance in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. In those states, hospitals were less likely to close.
As the number of immigrants available for farm work has dwindled in California, many who are left are older, and suffer from health problems related to decades of difficult labor.
GOP efforts to repeal the ACA are still in flux, and there's more talk now of trying to work out bipartisan fixes for Obamacare. But most suggested remedies won't fix the problems in remote regions.
More than 70 rural U.S. hospitals have closed since 2010, and rural areas are likely to be short 45,000 doctors by 2020. It's one more example of the nation's division between haves and have-nots.
A coalition of health clinics in northeast California is asking local officials to defend the Affordable Care Act. And some are, despite the area's conservative politics.
At the lone hospital in Hugo, a country town, staff members know most of the patients — they are friends and family. But cuts in the GOP health bill could threaten this cherished institution.
Health care jobs now outnumber manufacturing jobs in Jefferson County, Ohio. Hospital administrators worry that Republican plans to cut Medicaid will lead to layoffs.
Dr. Adam McMahan comes to Klukwan, a tiny town in Southeast Alaska, just two days a week. But he's come to know his patients well, and attends to more than just their medical needs.
A quarter of doctors practicing in the U.S. went to medical school elsewhere. Many of these physicians practice in parts of this country that the government says need more primary care providers.
Opioid abuse is rising fast among those who live in rural areas. Research suggests the drugs' illicit use there spreads rapidly via social networks, which could be part of the solution, too.
Facilities for delivering babies are expensive to run and hard to staff. But when small rural hospitals close their birthing units, pregnant women must travel much farther for care.
