Brian Jones: “I come to the floor today and rise to speak on a challenge that our rural health communities face both in Alabama and…”

“I come to the floor today and rise to speak on a challenge that our rural health communities face both in Alabama and across the country. People living in rural areas often face difficulty in finding healthcare providers. The challenges of consistent, quality healthcare for rural America are exponentially more difficult than in any other area in the country. These persistent gaps in healthcare inevitably lead to poor health outcomes. As a result, life expectancy for rural Alabamans is approximately 6 months lower than for those who reside in urban areas and 3\1/2\ years lower than for people living in the rest of the country. In some parts of my State, the outlook is even worse. In Wilcox County, for example, life expectancy is 9 years lower than the national average. That is unacceptable. The county of your birth or where you choose to live should not dictate the quality of your life, much less your life expectancy. Despite the prosperity some pockets of the country feel today, outcomes don't seem to be improving in many areas in rural America. Alabama's rural hospitals are at risk, and many are in immediate danger of closing. Sadly, some already have. Just last week, yet another hospital--this one in Jacksonville, AL--announced that they would close; it is about the 12th, I think, since 2011. It has become an all- too-familiar pattern in Alabama and in other rural areas in America.…”