Treating Rural America: The last doctor in town

With physicians experiencing high turnover and burnout during Covid-19 pandemic and rural hospitals closing, the shortage of doctors in rural America keeps getting worse. In 2023, 65% of rural areas had a shortage of primary care physicians, according to a report published by the Health Resources and Services Administration. More than 15% of Americans — about 46 million — live in rural areas, but only 10% of doctors practice in these communities, many of whom are primary care and family physicians.

That mismatch forces every rural doctor to tackle all sorts of cases and make the best use of their limited resources. In this short documentary, STAT explores why the shortage exists and shows what life is like for a doctor in Kansas who wears many hats and a physician in Illinois pondering retirement.

“One of the most exciting things about practicing in a rural community is that you never know what’s going to walk in the door,” said Jennifer Bacani McKenney, a family physician in Fredonia, Kan. “So whether that’s in the emergency department and it’s a rattlesnake bite, or a car wreck, or someone with a stroke, or someone with a toothache, really, there’s no dull moment.”

STAT’s coverage of chronic health issues is supported by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Our financial supporters are not involved in any decisions about our journalism.