U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Butler County, is continuing his push to improve rural health care access. Grassley, who helped create the Rural Emergency Hospital program in 2020, says the initiative is helping communities maintain critical services even when traditional hospital operations are no longer sustainable.
The program, implemented in 2023, allows rural hospitals to eliminate inpatient beds while still offering emergency and outpatient care. Grassley recently explained on the Senate floor why he pushed for the creation of the Rural Emergency Hospital Program.
“So one of the things that I’ve been interested in is keeping hospital services available in rural areas. The Rural Emergency Hospital Program allows rural hospitals to voluntarily right-size their healthcare infrastructure while maintaining essential medical services for their rural communities. It gives these hospitals the flexibility to operate without hospital inpatient services while still retaining a 24-7 emergency department, ambulance services, outpatient services, and more.”
So far, 42 hospitals in 17 states have made the transition. Grassley is now gathering feedback from hospital leaders to strengthen the program further.
