COVID-19 exposes the precarious state of rural health care in the South
The COVID-19 coronavirus has arrived in the rural South. Harrison County in central Kentucky is the epicenter of the outbreak in that state; at least six people there have been infected, and more than 150 are self-quarantined. And the main hospital in rural Southwest Georgia, Phoebe Putney in Albany, saw seven of its patients test positive for the virus just last weekend.
If the novel strain of the coronavirus continues to hit rural Southern communities, as many doctors expect, it could be catastrophic — not only for the health of individuals, but for the long-term physical and economic health of their communities.
Rural communities are, as has been well-documented, older and poorer overall than their urban and suburban counterparts. The South's rural areas are no exception; in fact, they have higher poverty rates, higher mortality rates, and lower life expectancies than other rural regions of the country. People living in the rural South are more likely to be uninsured than people living in rural communities in any other region, and also more likely to be living in poverty. These crises are especially pronounced in Black and Hispanic communities, including those in the South’s historic Black Belt. All of this creates a less-than-ideal set of conditions in which to prepare for a pandemic.
"It is becoming absolutely dire," said Maggie Elehwany, the government affairs and policy vice president for the National Association of Rural Hospitals. "I cannot believe how rapidly things are deteriorating in rural America, from workforce shortages to cash flow issues."
https://www.facingsouth.org/2020/03/covid-19-exposes-precarious-state-rural-health-care-south