Intermountain Health is partnering with Microsoft, Gates Ventures, Epic, and West Health to form a coalition aimed at reversing the current trajectory of rural healthcare. Sixty million people – roughly one of every five Americans – are grappling with shrinking patient access, rising mortality rates, and closing hospitals.
Over the last two decades, mortality rates for virtually every leading cause of death have almost tripled in rural communities. Roughly 20% of rural Americans live in counties without hospitals. Seven out of 10 live in a county that doesn’t have a practicing oncologist. Rural patients wait an average of 13 minutes for an ambulance following a 9-1-1 call. Over 130 hospitals have closed and another 700 are at risk of closure.
Formed in late 2023, the coalition identified improving specialty care access, narrowing urban population disparities, strengthening hospitals’ financial stability, and addressing technology infrastructure gaps as areas most likely to make a significant, lasting impact.