“I was so surprised,” she said. “And then I felt betrayed because it is terrible to get a letter where a doctor, although within their rights, says that they don’t want you for a patient anymore, because it causes self-doubt.”

Among large, urban counties, Sacramento had the highest rate of malnutrition deaths among those 65 or older from 2020 through 2022. County spokesperson Macy Obernuefemann said the public health agency helps control and manage chronic diseases often accompanied by malnutrition and that several programs help seniors get the food they need.

(Español) Más de 180 hospitales rurales han cerrado en Estados Unidos desde 2005, “con un récord de 19 cierres sólo en 2020. Esta tendencia es médica y económicamente devastadora para las comunidades; “históricamente, los hospitales han respaldado uno de cada 12 empleos rurales y, después de un cierre, la población de una comunidad generalmente comienza a reducir”.