There's an epidemic in America that's not getting the attention it deserves: hospital closures. In Alabama, 10 hospitals closed in the last three years, leaving some smaller communities without a major medical facility. Last year, Georgia lost three hospitals, Virginia and North Carolina one each. And in New Jersey no fewer than 40 urban hospitals have shut down over the last decade. The situation is so dire that, according to the American Medical Association, almost one third of all emergency rooms in the country have closed since the mid-nineties. "Across the nation," The Los Angeles Times observed earlier this year, "both rural and urban areas are struggling daily to maintain the...
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