Date of Award

2017

Embargo Period

8-1-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Kit N. Simpson

Second Advisor

Thomas E. McKee

Third Advisor

John McCullough

Fourth Advisor

James S Zoller

Abstract

Critical Access Hospitals and rural hospitals are the safety net community health providers across the United States and especially is rural, sparsely populated states like West Virginia. While many larger hospitals across the country are merging of forming other combinations, there has been a significant increase in the number of small hospital closures or transformation of their services. This study looks specifically at hospitals of 100 beds or less in West Virginia to determine if there are looming threats for these hospitals that may not only affect their ability to operate but which might also have significant impact on the availability and accessibility of many of West Virginia’s rural residents to timely, quality emergency, acute, primary and preventative health care.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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