Mercer University School of Medicine is hoping to boost recruitment of rural Georgians, whose hometowns often lack access to primary care providers.

Just 18 facilities were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals so far. Advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are needed to widen the reach and keep health care in rural communities.

More than half of American counties don't have an obstetrician. Family physicians, working in teams with proper support, could be the answer to the crisis in rural obstetric care.

Dollar General's primary care experiment could help solve rural America's care shortage. But it's getting a chilly reception in Tennessee.

Like much of rural America, LaFayette, Alabama, has no hospital or urgent care clinic. As the town's two primary care doctors approach retirement, some experiments are bubbling up to care for people.

The Biden administration says a recently proposed minimum staffing standard would help ensure quality care, but nursing home leaders predict it will accelerate a trend of closures in rural America.

The Georgi Senate Rural Medical Personnel Recruitment Study Committee convened for its first meeting on Wednesday at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham in Demorest.

Low reimbursements, high numbers of uninsured patients and staffing shortages are impacting rural hospitals nationwide. But in Randolph County, Ga., access to critical lifesaving care has all but disappeared.

Health care vans that provided COVID testing and vaccines in the pandemic are now providing a range of health services in hard-to-reach communities. New access to federal funds could expand the trend.

The mid-July launch of a new three-digit national suicide prevention phone line has driven an increase in call volume in Georgia, with a disproportionate number of callers dialing in from rural counties.

The Stacey Abrams campaign makes its way through Southwest Georgia emphasizing Medicaid expansion, education and workforce development. 

Some rural hospitals are in such bad shape, they're selling for next to nothing. One company is snapping several distressed or closed hospitals in rural Tennessee, hoping to turn a profit.

The virus hit Whidbey Island early in 2020, and photojournalist Lynn Johnson was there. A million deaths later, we return to see how the pandemic has subtly but indelibly altered life there forever.

The virus hit Whidbey Island early in 2020, and photojournalist Lynn Johnson was there. A million deaths later, we return to see how the pandemic has subtly but indelibly altered life there forever.

Georgia's rural hospitals were struggling long before COVID-19 crushed them with a wave of patients. As surges subside, hospitals and communities wonder where they go from here.