Rural Georgia hospitals may remain open as ERs

As many rural hospitals in Georgia struggle to remain open, the state’s Department of Community Health recently revised its licensing rules to allow them to remain open as freestanding emergency departments.

In the past two years, four of the state’s 65 rural hospitals have closed and many more have reduced services due to slashed budgets. The rule change allows these hospitals to reopen or remain open as rural freestanding emergency departments. These facilities would be able to handle basic urgent care and stabilize patients with more serious needs for transfers to larger hospitals.