Listen: Five Oklahoma Hospitals Collapsed – What Happened?

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Jackie Fortiér to discuss why a series of rural hospitals collapsed, leaving hundreds of residents without jobs and their communities without lifesaving emergency medical care. Weber and California Healthline senior correspondent Barbara Feder Ostrov wrote an in-depth story on the business practices of Jorge A. Perez and his management company, EmpowerHMS, that helped run that empire of rural hospitals.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Listen: Five Oklahoma Hospitals Collapsed – What Happened?</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2019-09-27T14:56:58-04:00">
			September 27, 2019		</time>
		</div>
<p>KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Jackie Fortiér <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2019/09/25/five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/">to discuss</a> why a series of rural hospitals collapsed, leaving hundreds of residents without jobs and their communities without lifesaving emergency medical care. Weber and California Healthline senior correspondent Barbara Feder Ostrov wrote an <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/rural-hospital-empire-collapse-missouri-town-fallout-jorge-a-perez-empowerhms/">in-depth story on the business practices</a> of Jorge A. Perez and his management company, EmpowerHMS, that helped run that empire of rural hospitals.</p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Listen%3A%20Five%20Oklahoma%20Hospitals%20Collapsed%20%E2%80%93%20What%20Happened%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMTAwMjgxMw&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/listen-five-oklahoma-hospitals-collapsed-what-happened/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1002813&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

Some elements may be removed from this article due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about available photos or other content, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org.

More From KFF Health News