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Rural Hospitals - TPR's In Focus - July 31, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University's Dothan
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  campus, identifying and preserving historical documents and photographs
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  for research related to the Wiregrass region. More information at troy.edu/wiregrassarchives.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is the News Wrap,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. Alabama Public Television
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  reporter Randy Scott fills in for Todd Stacy
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  from Capitol Journal. Randy has been investigating
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  the closure of rural hospitals, and he gives us a
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  summary. And the Wild Card is taking us on a joyride.
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  Randy, welcome back to Troy Public Radio. Carolyn,
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  it's good to be with you. Randy, I have been following your
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  investigations on Capitol Journal,
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  looking at rural hospitals and what is happening in
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  Alabama. Can you get the listeners up to date? It's actually a big
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  story because what happens in rural hospitals affects us
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  all, really. And we've learned that it all started with work
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  going on in Thomasville with their hospital closing. And it's other hospital
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  issues that have happened in the state, including the city
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  of Montgomery almost losing a hospital. This hospital
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  serves a lot of people in the middle part of Alabama, in rural areas
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  outside the city of Montgomery. Recently,
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  we ventured to Utah, Alabama. We talked to some people there about
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  them almost losing their ambulance service. They came up
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  with a plan to avoid that from happening, which would've been really bad because again,
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  it's in an area that is almost a hospital desert
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  in terms of getting healthcare to people when they really need it. Or if
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  you have people in need of medical assistance, imagine being without
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  an ambulance service in your community in a rural
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  area That could be scary. And the reasons for the closings?
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  Well, many people will say it's financial. It's due to
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  reimbursement issues between the hospitals, the patients,
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  and the communities that they serve. They're trying to get that straightened out because
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  you need healthcare no matter where you are to be able to access
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  that healthcare. And one of the things that they've done to
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  help alleviate the pinch on those who work in the medical field
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  is telehealth, which in the city of Bologee, Alabama,
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  you have a unit that is set up in a facility where
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  you can go into this room and on camera connect
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  with a doctor and let them examine you to see what's going on. And it
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  has equipment in it like a blood pressure meter and other items
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  to help track down what's wrong with you to see if maybe you do need
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  to go to another town to seek healthcare.
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  Telehealth is big and this facility that's in Bulloch, Alabama is
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  state of the art in an area again that is almost a healthcare
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  hospital desert. Randy, this is an important story,
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  and I hope you and I can follow up with an In Focus segment in
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  depth. Meanwhile, who are your guests this week since you're
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  substituting for Todd Stacy? State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey.
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  You know, school is right around the corner from starting.
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  You know, test scores have been on the up and up for the state.
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  Our other guest, Director Jeff Smitherman.
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  He is in charge of the Alabama Emergency Management
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  Agency, the agency that watches natural disasters
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  and dangerous conditions throughout the state. You know, hurricane season
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  is here. Randy, these are important topics. Before we leave,
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  how about a wild card? This story touches your heart
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  because a lady who celebrated her 105th birthday
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  in Ohio, the way she celebrated was she hopped
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  on the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and went on a tour of
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  the town that she lives in with about 10 bikers and family members. Did want
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  to surprise her for her birthday. She looks like she had a good time.
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  And this just goes to show you that, you know, no matter what age you
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  are, it's all about living your life as best you can. That's a great lesson
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  for all of us. Randy, thank you so much for the News Wrap.
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  You are quite welcome. It was good joining you and look forward to working with
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  you again soon. Joining us for the News Wrap from Capitol Journal was
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  reporter Randy Scott filling in for Todd Stacy.
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  More information can be found at the Alabama Public Television, aptv.org.
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  Website. Capitol Journal is on tonight at 7:30,
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  Sunday at noon, and on YouTube. Thanks for
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  joining us for In Focus, which is a podcast wherever you get your
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  podcasts. Feel free to get in touch at infocus@troy.edu.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this is listener-supported
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  Troy Public Radio.