Rural hospitals are struggling everywhere. But nowhere is the situation more urgent than in Kansas. According to the most recent data, 80% of the state’s 104 rural hospitals are losing money. More than half could be on the brink of closure. Jim McLean, of the Kansas News Service, has the story of one of those hospitals. And the hard choices that the people who depend on it are making to keep it open.
Plus, more on these stories:
- Wichita State University says its computer systems will be restored today as it recovers from an attempted data breach.
- Union nurses at St. Francis held an informational picket outside of the hospital Monday on International Workers’ Day.
- A national organization of college professors says Emporia State University violated academic freedom and tenure when it fired dozens of faculty members.
- A trial is underway in a lawsuit challenging a Kansas Highway Patrol maneuver for detaining out-of-state drivers.
- Sedgwick County is expanding its emergency alert notification system.
-
Wichita's Early Edition is produced by KMUW News and is part of the NPR Podcast Network.
Producer: Debra Fraser and Beth Golay
Editors: Tom Shine and Beth Golay
Contributors: Kylie Cameron, Daniel Caudill, Dylan Lysen, Suzanne Perez, and Tom Shine.
Theme Music: Torin Andersen
Digital Editors: Hugo Phan and Karlee Cooper
