On June 24, ACEP Past President Aisha Terry, MD, MPH, FACEP, (third from left) joined Missouri Senator Josh Hawley for a news conference on Capitol Hill to roll out the Rural Hospital Emergency Department Guarantee Act.
The proposed legislation would allocate $1 million per year to support rural emergency department operating expenses as well as additional funding based on qualifying criteria.
“Right now is an optimal time to continue to shine a light on this problem around hospital closures,” said Dr. Terry. “We know that over the next decade or so it’s estimated that there will be about 100 rural hospitals that will have to close their doors, and that would leave about 3 million patients without access to care.”
“To see one emergency room after another close, in my state and around the country, is absolutely unacceptable,” said Sen. Hawley.
“I want to say thank you to the doctors over the years who, in all of our rural counties and towns across the state of Missouri and across the country, have dedicated their lives.”
“You are needed, you are vital, and it is time that we made a commitment as a nation to protect these doctors in these emergency rooms so that we can serve the people of the United States,” he said.
ACEP strongly supports state and federal efforts to support rural emergency care and proudly champions legislation that improves the workplace, protects care teams and prioritizes emergency physician-led care in rural communities.
Act Now
Learn more about the bill and ACEP efforts to support rural emergency care from the latest ACEP News Alert.
