April 2011 TrendWaTch American Hospital （2011年4月TrendWaTch美国医院）.pdfVIP

AmericA n HospitA l AssociAtion April 2011 TrendWaTch The Opportunities and Challenges for Rural Hospitals in an Era of Health Reform 5 more likely to be uninsured and to eventy-two million Americans live their employees. A strong health care Sin rural areas1 and depend upon network also adds to the attractiveness have lower incomes, and they are, on the hospital serving their community of a community as a place to settle, average, older and less healthy than as an important, and often only, source locate a business or retire. Americans living in metropolitan areas.6 of care. The nation’s nearly 2,000 rural Rural hospitals provide their patients The Patient Protection and Affordable community hospitals2 frequently serve as with the highest quality of care while Care Act of 2010 (ACA) begins to an anchor for their region’s health-related simultaneously tackling challenges due address some of the urgent issues services, providing the structural and to their often remote geographic loca- facing the nation’s health care system, financial backbone for physician practice tion, small size, limited workforce, and such as lack of access to health insur- groups, health clinics and post-acute and constrained financial resources. Rural ance coverage, and includes provisions long-term care services. In addition, these hospitals’ low-patient volumes mak