Over the past few years, a number of factors have combined to reduce the financial viability of hospitals throughout the country. Hospitals in depressed areas have been particularly hard hit: Many patients have lost health care insurance along with their jobs, and with patients less able to afford routine and preventative care—and even medication—they are sicker than ever before upon admission. At the same time, it has become harder to attract medical staff to depressed areas and hospitals have had to raise salaries to entice doctors and nurses to sign on. These factors, combined with pressures to contain
