ADEL, Ga. (AP) — The small, south Georgia community of Adel has a new hospital after facing the threat of losing its hospital for good.
The new Southwell Medical has fewer patient beds, focuses on surgeries and preventive care, and at least for now, lacks an emergency room.
Some community leaders see the streamlined hospital as a model for other rural communities struggling to save their own hospitals.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina’s Sheps Center say more than 120 rural hospitals in the U.S. have closed since 2010.
But many Adel residents are concerned about the lack of an ER.
