In Rural America, Patients Are Waiting for Care–Sometimes with Deadly Consequences

February 10, 2022

(NPR) – Ripley didn’t just need any bed. She needed a type of dialysis — known as continuous renal replacement therapy — that’s used for critically ill patients, and is in high demand in hospitals treating a lot of COVID. In normal times, she would have been flown to a larger hospital within hours. Like many rural hospitals, Gritman relies on being able to transfer patients to larger, better-equipped hospitals for care that it cannot provide — whether that’s placing a stent after a heart attack or treating a life-threatening infection.  (Read More)