The hospital needed new equipment to boost revenue. With few other options, it took the unusual step of turning to city hall, which helped the hospital get a $1.5 million loan.

The farm tour was part of a week-long program designed to introduce future doctors, pharmacists and nurses to rural life.  The goal: Get the students interested in working in rural areas.

Some of the country’s most profound health care challenges are playing out in rural areas struggling with populations that are relatively older and sicker. This is the story of a Minnesota hospital that’s become accustomed to operating in the red.

Jessica Sheridan’s plan was to have her first daughter at the local hospital, five minutes from her house in Iowa Falls. But when she was seven months pregnant, that plan suddenly changed.

Nine months ago, things were looking bleak for Hillsboro Community Hospital, a 15-bed facility in central Kansas about 50 miles north of Wichita.