Getting Access To Healthcare In Rural Communities

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI)- Access to healthcare in rural communities is a topic important to many Mississippians.

On Thursday, Richard Roberson with the State Hospital Association spoke to rotary members in West Point about the importance of rural hospitals and expanding medicaid.

Roberson said financial problems are plaguing rural hospitals.

He talked about a program called Mississippi Cares that’s working to combat that issue by helping people get the coverage and treatment they need.

“We’ve had a report that was done about a year ago, or almost a year ago that reports about 31 Mississippi hospitals are at risk of closure,” said Roberson, Vice President of Policy and State Advocacy. “That’s a scary proposition. Folks need access to healthcare, they need access to the hospitals. If you have a stroke, if you have a heart attack, you need to be able to go to the hospital closest to you, you can’t afford to drive very far, so it’s literally a life or death situation. We’ve got to have our rural hospitals open to take care of patients.”

For more information about the Mississippi Cares program, just visit https://mississippicares.com/.