Seven hundred rural hospitals across the U.S., or about one-third of all rural facilities in the country, are at risk of closing due to severe financial challenges, according to a July 21 Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform analysis. The analysis comprises 264 hospitals that are at immediate risk of closure, according to the report. In almost every state, rural hospitals are at risk of closure. In most states, more than 25% of rural hospitals are at risk and in 1

Certified registered nurse anesthetists are highly educated professionals who undergo rigorous clinical training. That experience qualifies CRNAs like myself to be hands-on providers of care in every setting where anesthesia is administered. But you would never know it by looking at the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Under the newly proposed rules, only certain fields — including medicine, law, pharmacy and dentistry — are on the “professional” list. Nursing, including advanc

State Reps. Sylleste Davis and Heath Sessions rightly highlighted a problem in their recent commentary that unites policymakers, providers and patients alike: Too many South Carolinians — especially in rural communities — struggle to access timely health care. But expanding access and protecting quality do not have to be competing goals. Nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, certified registered nurse anesthetists and physician assistants are essential to meeting tod

Student debt is not an abstract national issue in South Carolina. It is a local economic issue, a workforce issue and, increasingly, a healthcare access issue. A recent report from The State found that several South Carolina communities rank among the places with the highest student debt burdens in the country when comparing median student debt to median earnings for bachelor’s degree holders. Orangeburg ranked No. 2 nationally, with median student debt of $27,493 and med

Rural healthcare is at an inflection point. Hospitals are closing or scaling back essential services. Labor and delivery units are disappearing. Rural operating rooms sit idle not due to a lack of patients, but to a shortage of clinicians. At the same time, policymakers are advancing initiatives like the President’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), aimed at rethinking how care is delivered in rural communities. This is a moment for bold thinking. But transformation