It’s clear that mothers benefit from obstetric care but hospital-based services, particularly in rural areas, are getting harder to find, according to a study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Fewer than half the commonwealth’s acute care hospitals are operating with margins necessary for long-term stability and more than a third continue to operate at a loss, according to data released today by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4).

The stakes to preserve rural health care have never been higher, according to a new report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.