Ballad Health, Harvard Medical School And ETSU Form Rural Health Study

Ballad Health announces on Wednesday, they are partnering with Harvard Medical School and East Tennessee State University to conduct a study on rural health care. Harvard Medical School will lead the independent study to evaluate hospital competition in small rural markets, and how service offerings and expenses are affected by rural hospital closures and mergers. Specifically, the study will identify small markets with three or fewer hospitals and examine how these markets have evolved over time as well as measure service offerings and expenses in small markets. This latest announcement follows a partnership between the state of Tennessee, its legislature and Ballad Health to create the Center for Rural Health Research at ETSU.