News Summary

• Since 2005, 109 rural hospitals have closed outright.
• Most rural hospitals no longer offer labor-and-delivery services.
• As of 2023, 60 percent of rural counties had no hospital-based obstetric care.
• The proportion of practicing physicians from other countries who are on an H-1B visa is almost twice as high in rural areas than in urban ones.
• More than 40 percent of u.s. births take place in rural and overall American areas, says Dr.