"But she couldn't stay at Glenn Medical Center. The hospital - which for more than seven decades has treated residents of its small farm town about 75 miles north of Sacramento, along with countless victims of car crashes on nearby Interstate 5 and a surprising number of crop-duster pilots wounded in accidents - shut its doors on October 21. McNabb was the last patient."
"These are questions that elected officials and policymakers may soon be confronting in rural communities across California and the nation. Cuts to Medicaid funding and the Affordable Care Act are likely rolling down from Washington D.C. and hitting small hospitals already teetering at the brink of financial collapse. Even before these cuts hit, a 2022 study found that half of the hospitals in California were operating in the red."
"Nurses and other hospital workers gathered at her room to ceremonially push her wheelchair outside and into the doors of a medical transport van. Then they stood on the lawn, looking bereft. They had all just lost their jobs. Their town had just lost one of its largest employers. And the residents - many of whom are poor- had lost their access to emergency medical care."
Theresa McNabb, 74, was discharged as Glenn Medical Center closed after more than seven decades of service. McNabb left still on multiple intravenous antibiotics and uncertain about managing daily tasks after six weeks in the hospital. Hospital staff gathered to wheel her out as many employees faced sudden job loss. The town lost one of its largest employers and residents lost local access to emergency medical care. Policymakers may confront similar crises as cuts to Medicaid funding and the Affordable Care Act threaten small hospitals already operating in the red.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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