Closure of rural hospitals negatively affects small town services and growth

by Terri Dee
Illinois News Connection

CHICAGO - The federal government is launching a new program to help hospitals struggling to stay afloat in rural Illinois.

Severe financial problems have put 360 rural hospitals nationwide at immediate risk of closing. Fifteen rural Illinois hospitals have closed since 2015, according to a Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform report.

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Rural hospital closures can negatively affect the nation's food supply and energy production

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The National Rural Health Resource Center is launching the federal Rural Hospital Stabilization pilot program to prevent further closings.

Alyssa Meller, chief operating officer of the pilot program, outlined its objectives.

"It is a program that's aiming to improve the health care in rural communities by really helping keep health care services available locally to increase patient volume and improve revenue," Meller explained.

The report showed rural hospital closures can negatively affect the nation's food supply and energy production. Farms and solar energy facilities are located mostly in rural areas. Those without health care facilities have a hard time attracting and retaining workers.

Meller noted several things contribute to hospitals' financial woes, including people bypassing local services and going elsewhere, fixed costs exceeding reimbursement rates from Medicare and Medicaid, and a lack of services tailored to meet community needs.

"This program then will help stabilize their current service line but also will help them dive into what is needed at that local level and provide technical assistance and support," Meller added.

The report indicated of Illinois's 74 rural hospitals, 10 are at risk of closing, and six are at immediate risk of closing. Meller said the program will also help engage the hospitals' communities to promote services. The application period ends Jan. 15.

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Guest Commentary | January: Be prepared, drink hot chocolate and rest

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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January always brings snow and ice unless you live in the most southern part of the United States. Even then, you aren’t guaranteed to escape January without some harsh weather.

Glenn Mollette

This current mess that came from the west has piled about eight inches of snow and ice on us. Keeping us inside for a couple of days. So far, we’ve only been without power for one hour, but many others have not been as fortunate.

The best we can do is prepare and hunker down. We need alternative lighting and heat sources. You can almost count on the power to go out sometime in January. Especially if you aren’t prepared. It’s better to be over prepared and not need it than to be underprepared and in danger of freezing to death.

Accidents and hard times can come suddenly and painfully. These are the things in life that come at us suddenly and out of nowhere.

This seems to be one of the golden rules of life. Be prepared. We spend our lives studying and thinking about being prepared. School and education are about learning, developing and training. We study for knowledge but also to be prepared. We try to save money so that we might be prepared for the time when we aren’t able to make any more. The team than wins the game is the team who works hard to prepare mentally and physically.

Every aspect of life is about preparing. The musician, athlete, actor, politician, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, homemaker, and so forth must have a rigid daily routine to experience success.

One reality of life is that there is much for which we can’t prepare.

We hear about cancer but we are never prepared for such a diagnosis. We aren’t prepared for breaking a bone but then we are suddenly faced with months of recuperation. Accidents and hard times can come suddenly and painfully. These are the things in life that come at us suddenly and out of nowhere. Although they are painful, we have no choice but to face the agony of whatever it is and try to work through it one day at a time.

We prepare for life and we should prepare for death. As long as we live, we have all that comes with life. What about death? We must be prepared for that as well. There are funeral plans we need to make, but most importantly, our eternal plans must be made. Where do you want to spend eternity? Consider, when it comes to the end of our lives and meeting God face to face. Look to him today and prepare your heart and mind. Embrace His gift to us in His son Jesus.

January won’t last forever and there is much excitement in January such as college basketball, NFL playoffs, my birthday if I live, the swearing in of our new President, a raise in Social Security, and many occasions to drink hot chocolate. Don’t miss the hot chocolate and don’t miss the opportunity to take some time for a few naps on these snowy days. God surely gave us January to hibernate a little and rest after the hectic holidays.

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About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Researchers find African-Americans receive inequitable sentencing and remain over-represented in Illinois jails

by Terri Dee
Illinois News Connection

CHICAGO - Data show troubling disparities on the number of justice-involved individuals within the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Pew Research figures show Black people remain over-represented in jail populations and receive longer sentences.

The John Howard Association is a non-partisan prison watchdog group that monitors the treatment of justice-involved individuals and says change needs to happen at many levels.

Executive Director Jennifer Vollen-Katz said the population of Black people in Illinois is around 14%. For white people, that number is around 68%.

IDOC's 2024 fact sheet shows a sharp contrast.

"But when you look at the racial makeup of the population in the Illinois Department of Corrections," said Vollen-Katz, "we find somewhere between 52% and 54% of the individuals inside IDOC are black - and about 32% of the people inside our prisons are white."

Conversations with IDOC workers and administrators are part of JHA's research, and pair with inmates' perspectives and experiences.

The goal is to increase public awareness and IDOC's transparency. Illinois.gov lists 29 correctional buildings statewide.

Katz said she wants equal treatment in the justice system - regardless of background or race - and a deeper look at law enforcement's relationships with different communities.

She said prosecutors wielding enormous power in making legal decisions is a huge problem in the early stages of the criminal justice system, and said she feels discrimination should be identified at its source.

"The disproportionate representation in our prison system is reflective of the lack of equity throughout our criminal legal and law enforcement systems," said Vollen-Katz, "and so we can't look at any one system to solve the problem. We need to start at the very beginning and do things quite differently if we're going to address this problem."

Katz affirmed that differences in the outcomes of charges, trials, and plea deals in sentencing are additional areas for reform.

She said more information is needed to improve the back end of the justice system - mandatory supervised releases, parole, and early discharge.

A May 2023 study from the anti-mass criminalization group The Prison Policy Initiative shows 28,000 Illinois residents are in state prisons, 17,000 are in local jails, and 6,100 are in federal prisons.

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