Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based SoutheastHealth shut down Ripley County Memorial Hospital in Doniphan, Mo., on Oct. 15.
Here are three things to know:
1. SoutheastHealth cited low patient volume as a reason for the closure. Before Ripley County Memorial shut down, the hospital was seeing an average of two patients per day, a spokesperson told Missourinet.
2. SoutheastHealth plans to offer outpatient services at the facility until Dec. 1, when Ellington-based Missouri Highlands Health Care is slated to take over Ripley County Memorial. Missouri Highlands plans to convert the facility to an urgent care clinic, according to Missourinet.
3. Ripley County Memorial Hospital is the fifth rural hospital in Missouri to close since 2010, according to research from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program.
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