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After Losing Its Hospital, A Small Tennessee Town Shows One Way To Make Do
After the hospital in Hohenwald, Tennessee closed in 1996, area residents were forced to drive 45 minutes to the nearest emergency room. The facility has since reopened as Lewis Health Center, a hybrid medical center that provides more services than a health clinic but fewer than a hospital. This innovative approach may become a model for other struggling rural hospitals. Read the full article by Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio.
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NEED
IMPACT
Hospitals Strengthen Communities
In addition to providing important healthcare services, a community hospital is often a leading employer and vital economic engine for a small town. When rural hospitals close, communities suffer:
Reduced access to emergency, primary care providers and specialty healthcare services
Decreased employment opportunities
Decreased tax base
Reduced ability to attract new businesses to a community
CHALLENGE
Why Community Hospitals Need Your Help
- Declining reimbursements and changes in coding
- An unfavorable payer mix
- Higher fixed costs
- Remote geographic location and small size
- Difficulty recruiting and retaining physicians
- The cost of new and updated technology
- Sagging hospital operations

There have been 95 rural and community hospitals that have closed since 2010, according to the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. Unfortunately, troubled hospitals in a cycle of declining profitability often lack the ability to pay for needed consulting services and wait to reach out for help after they are near the brink of failure.
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Our Mission to Help Hospitals
The Rural and Community Healthcare Collaborative (RCHC) was founded in 2016 by the leaders of Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) who share a passion to help rural and community hospitals that can’t afford services to improve their performance or sustain their future.
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Since its founding in 1996, CHC has helped community-based hospitals deliver quality care, maintain their financial health and remain locally governed. In addition to the direct ownership and management of a portfolio of hospitals, CHC accomplishes its not-for-profit mission through consulting services. CHC consultants help rural and community hospitals overcome operational challenges and become change-agile in the constantly shifting world of healthcare.
Unfortunately, troubled hospitals in a cycle of declining profitability may lack the wherewithal to pay for needed assistance.
RCHC was founded to help these rural and community hospitals by offering no- and low-cost consulting services. We raise funds to support rural and community hospitals through individual, foundation, and corporate sources.

LEADERSHIP
Visionary Guidance
Experienced RCHC leaders understand that rural and community hospitals are key components of this nation’s healthcare delivery system and critical to rural residents’ access to healthcare.
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RCHC is a registered 501(c) nonprofit organization.
All donations are tax deductible in full or part.
Help Us Keep Hospitals Open in Hometowns Across America
Your donation will strengthen struggling rural and community hospitals.
CONTACT
Rural and Community
Healthcare Collaborative
7800 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 200
Plano, Texas 75024
Phone: 972.943.6400
Fax: 972.943.6401
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