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More than 600 rural hospitals in the United States are either at immediate or high risk of closure as a result of persistent financial losses on patient services or low financial reserves, a study found. Almost every state is home to hospitals with these characteristics, according to the report by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, based in Pittsburgh. In more than half of the states, 25% or more of the rural hospitals are at risk of closing, and in 12 states, 40% or more are at risk. (Higgs, 3/16)

Crozer Health is laying off 215 employees, or 4% of its workforce, as part of an organizational restructuring. Upland, Pennsylvania-based Crozer, which operates four hospitals, said Wednesday the changes stem from financial struggles, including the effects of the pandemic and rising costs for staffing, supplies and pharmaceuticals. (Hudson, 3/16)

Effie Schnacky was wheezy and lethargic instead of being her normal, rambunctious self one February afternoon. When her parents checked her blood oxygen level, it was hovering around 80% – dangerously low for the 7-year-old. Her mother, Jaimie, rushed Effie, who has asthma, to a local emergency room in Hudson, Wisconsin. She was quickly diagnosed with pneumonia. After a couple of hours on oxygen, steroids and nebulizer treatments with little improvement, a physician told Schnacky that her daughter needed to be transferred to a children’s hospital to receive a higher level of care. What they didn’t expect was that it would take hours to find a bed for her. (Zdanowicz, 3/16)

Emergency medicine physicians at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery huddled in a room for the last few days, scrambling to fill unclaimed residency spots. Colleagues dropped by with snacks from Wawa. Others rallied on social media to support the program: “Please check us out.” (Gutman, 3/17)

Bright Health Group’s financial picture continues to darken, new disclosures from the struggling health insurance company reveal. The insurtech reported a $12.9 million shortfall across its state-regulated insurance divisions as of Dec. 31, according to an annual report filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. (Tepper, 3/16)

Washington University will no longer participate in U.S. News & World Report's annual best medical schools list. Wash U joins Harvard, the University of Chicago, Stanford and other historically top-ranked schools that made similar announcements this year. School officials say they’ll stop submitting data to the publication, which provides one of the nation’s most popular college rankings. (Fentem, 3/17)