Rural hospitals struggle to maintain operations after COVID funds cease
Fox News
Many rural hospitals were at risk of closing before the pandemic, and stayed open with the help of COVID-19 funds.
Robert Pascasio is the CEO of OmniPoint Health Hospital in Anahuac, Texas. He says rural hospitals are struggling to maintain their operations after dealing with higher costs and labor shortages. Joy Addison joined Fox News in 2022 as a multimedia reporter in Houston.
"COVID increased costs for all of us across the board. Labor costs are up, substantially. Supply costs are up, substantially," Pascasio said. "We’re still experiencing shortages. A lot of folks got out of healthcare as a result of COVID."
Now, COVID funds that kept many rural hospitals open during the pandemic have ended, resulting in the closure of 18 rural hospitals in addition to 18 that no longer offer in-patient care since the funding stopped over a year ago.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Mikal Mahdi, 42, was executed in South Carolina on April 11, 2025, for the murder of off-duty Orangeburg Public Safety Officer James Myers in 2004. Mahdi also killed a store clerk in North Carolina.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher revealed what went down at his White House dinner with President Trump, telling his audience he didn't feel like he "had to walk on eggshells around him."
Dr. Eithan Haim testified before the House Judiciary Committee this week, where Democratic lawmakers pressed him on alleged HIPAA violations after he leaked medical documents.
The Navy on Friday deployed another warship to the southern border. The USS Stockdale will join at least two other Navy warships deployed in March.
President Trump on Friday talked to reporters on Air Force One about his first physical examination and cognitive test of his second term at Walter Reed Medical Center.
A federal judge has ruled ICE enforcement can continue at churches and other places of worship, rejecting claims from religious groups that a policy violates their rights.
A video posted by a White House staffer shows President Donald Trump's Christian press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, pray to Jesus before engaging with the press.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday as stalled peace talks with Ukraine have frustrated President Donald Trump, who is pressuring both sides for a ceasefire.
A Maryland federal judge hammered DOJ attorneys regarding the whereabouts of an alleged MS-13 gang member who had been deported to an El Salvador megaprison in March.
The Justice Department says the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia are unknown after the Supreme Court ruled that the Maryland-based Salvadoran immigrant must be returned to the United States.
A Pennsylvania man has been charged with making threats against President Trump, other U.S. officials and U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE ) officials, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Biden administration engaged in a “cover-up" by failing to disclose details about the health of former president Joe Biden, the White House said Friday.
Zachary Young, the U.S. Navy veteran who successfully sued CNN for defamation earlier this year, filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Associated Press.