The Friday closing of Calhoun Memorial Hospital in the southwest Georgia town of Arlington reflects the financial squeeze that many rural facilities face.

A handful of other rural hospitals in the state also may be teetering on the brink, with rising levels of uninsured patients and with Medicaid continuing to pay low rates for services.

HomeTown Health, an organization of rural hospitals in Georgia, says a half-dozen facilities could follow Calhoun Memorial's move and shut down in the coming months.

Ironically, news of the nonprofit hospital's closing came just hours after the state House passed a bill to facilitate renewal of the hospital provider fee. Jimmy Lewis of HomeTown Health said that if the bill had failed and the fee had vanished, more than 20 rural hospitals might have had to close.

Many hospitals in rural counties, though they have managed to stay afloat, have already given up obstetrical services because of financial losses and difficulty in recruiting OB/GYNs to deliver babies. (Here's a recent GHN article on the problem.)

New Access Points Grants will be awarded to organizations that can provide primary health care services to underserved and vulnerable populations under the Health Center Program.

Applicants must demonstrate a high level of need in their community/population, demonstrate collaborative and coordinated delivery systems for the provision of health care to the underserved, and show that they are ready to rapidly initiate the proposal.

Applicants must propose a new access point that:

• Provides culturally competent, comprehensive primary medical care as its primary purpose
• Provides services, either directly onsite or through established arrangements, without regard to ability to pay
• Ensures access to services for all individuals in the targeted service area/population

• Provides services at one or more permanent service delivery sites