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It's more common for people in rural areas to die earlier than urban residents from things like heart disease, cancer and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But hospitals have closed throughout rural America in the last decade, leaving some of the 46 million people who live in these areas fewer options to get the care they need when they need it.
Advocates, hospital and health clinic administrators and rural residents say changing disparities in health outcomes and health care services in rural America needs to start at the local level—especially in communities of color that may lack trust in the medical field.
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