Shifting Healthcare in Rural South Carolina: A Study of Media Coverage of the Effects of Hospital Closures

Rural hospital closures have become an increasingly urgent issue in healthcare across the United States. These closures have impacted access to healthcare, the job market, and general community health. Most hospitals have been forced to close due to low patient volumes, financial struggles, and corporate ownership. Immediate implications of closures include the displacement of healthcare workers, community concern about lacking a central healthcare facility, and increased travel times to access care. This thesis examines South Carolina’s healthcare landscape in areas with hospital closures since 2012 and explores the effects of and responses to these closures as discussed in newspapers and academic literature. The emphasis is placed on the current state of the former hospital location, the immediate effects of the closure, and the descriptions of these effects as described by locals and professionals in their respective media outlets. This study seeks to examine how these closures are perceived by the public and academic professionals based on the content of the media they engage with.