COVID made shortages of doctors and nurses even worse. Rural hospitals still struggle
Even by rural hospital standards, Keokuk County Hospital in Sigourney, Iowa, is small.
The 14-bed hospital, in the southeastern part of the state, doesn’t do surgeries or deliver babies. The small 24-hour emergency room is overseen by two full-time doctors.
Matt Ives, the hospital’s CEO, wants to hire a third doctor, but he said finding physicians for a rural area has been challenging since the pandemic.