Operations

Transportation problems, physician shortages and hospital closures are central challenges to providing accessible high-quality healthcare in rural areas. But the good news is many initiatives to study rural areas' access issues are underway.

Association finds 48 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, the majority in Southern states, and 283 others are in trouble.

With the addition of SSM, the network will now include 45 hospitals, 555 clinics and about 5,700 other participating healthcare providers.

In total, the Census said healthcare spending was $2.23 trillion in 2014, the first full year that the Affordable Care Act health exchanges were open.

University Medical Center of El Paso will have more oversight of El Paso Children's in exchange for forgiving about $40 million in debt.

Linking heath information management staff with doctors helped cut a Mississippi hospital's delinquency rate from 40 to 13 percent.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday announced a new model of accountable care organization that asks participating healthcare providers to take on the highest level of risk with the possibility of higher returns than any other CMS program.

Daughters of Charity says it has "difficult decisions" ahead as terms placed by attorney general on the deal sink acquisition plans.

Baptist Health, Cleveland Clinic among healthcare providers named to Ethisphere's 2015 list for their work in ethics and compliance, corporate citizenship and innovation and reputation.

Welander was first hired by St. Charles in 2009 as director of accounting before being promoted to director of finance in 2014.