North Dakota’s Rural Hospitals Unite in Network to Fight Healthcare Consolidation

Despite having many small, rural communities, North Dakota found a way to bring advanced medical care to small hospitals. Twenty-two independent rural hospitals across the state have joined forces in the Rough Rider Network, sharing resources to keep local healthcare accessible without selling to larger systems. The network allows hospitals to pool patient numbers for better pricing on services like mobile MRI units that visit small towns like Bowman, according to Arielle Zoints of the North Dakota Monitor. Since 2010, over 150 rural hospitals nationwide have closed completely, with hundreds more merging with large systems. The North Dakota network, launched in 2023 with $3.5 million in state funding, serves two-thirds of rural North Dakotans. This is part of a growing trend as rural communities combine forces–fighting to maintain local healthcare control and services, as healthcare vendors that provide things like MRI units and other tools hold priority for large-scale contracts, which a single rural hospital would be unlikely to obtain.