Chicago’s Mercy Hospital & Medical Center survived the Great Fire of 1871, but it probably will not outlast COVID-19. Chicago’s oldest hospital will end inpatient services as soon as February, according to an article on the NPR website.
Founded 168 years ago, the hospital, Mercy has been weakened by a system that underfinances hospitals serving the poor.
And experts fear that the economic damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic is helping push some urban hospitals over the edge.
So far, urban hospital closures have not kept pace with those of rural facilities. The rural hospitals that are surviving have another set of issues - keeping enough supplies on hand.
Dayton (Wash.) General Hospital for instance didn’t have enough have ventilators and was low on protective gear. in the spring, according to a Becker’s CFO Report article. Due to shortages of certain supplies across the nation, Dayton General was rationing supplies, such as gloves and surgical masks.
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