Washington's Rural Hospitals Face Medicaid Cuts and Possible Closures
Rural hospitals in Washington, such as Dayton General, may face closures due to changes in the federal Medicaid program, leaving residents to travel over an hour to the next closest option.
A personal experience highlights the importance of local hospitals. Elise Severe recalls a terrifying moment when her daughter Maddie, then preparing for kindergarten, suddenly fell ill. Severe describes the scene:
“Then her head tilted back, and you could see her eyes go back, and all of the color just went away,” ... “Her lips were dark gray.”Severe's quick actions likely saved her daughter's life.
The Severe family resides in Dayton, Washington, within the state's wheat-growing Palouse region. Elise Severe, a native of the area, and her husband, a wind engineer, live with their three daughters in the town.
Author's summary: Rural hospitals face closures due to Medicaid cuts.