Rural Hospitals Called ‘Not Optional’ as North Dakota Acts to Keep One Open

(Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – The community hospital in southwest North Dakota in financial distress is one step closer to solvency after the Legislature voted to pass emergency legislation.

Senate Bill 2403 authorizes the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to issue a low-interest loan of up to $5 million to nonprofit hospitals in small communities in financial distress.

Jacobson Memorial Hospital in Elgin, which is operating “payroll to payroll” and in danger of shutting down, is the only institution in the state that meets the program’s eligibility requirements, according to the North Dakota Hospital Association.

“Once a rural hospital closes, reopening it is extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Karen Rohr, R-Mandan, whose district includes the hospital.