Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.
Most Urgent
Across the US, hospitals are seeing a surge in emergency room visits related to a relatively new veterinary sedative containing fentanyl. This drug, Medetomidine, is not approved for use in humans and is causing more severe symptoms than comparable drugs. Hospital ICUs are seeing a fresh wave of patients with life-threatening withdrawal symptoms like severe hypertension and tachycardia. Patients who survive the withdrawal often leave the ICU with long-lasting brain damage.
While medetomidine has entered the drug supply of about a dozen states, it’s not yet recognized as a diagnosis, so treatment cannot be reimbursed by insurance companies. Healthcare providers should be aware of this drug and watch for shifting signs and symptoms as the drug supply changes. Rural hospitals may not be as financially equipped to respond to this crisis, especially without the reimbursement they need for the expensive lifesaving treatment. While rural areas usually have lower addiction rates than urban areas, people living in rural areas are at greater risk of death from drug overdose.
Damage Report
23 hospitals have closed so far in 2025, with most recent closures including Heights University Hospital in Jersey City, Kell West Regional Hospital in Texas, Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau, emergency services at Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Colorado, and Glenn Medical Center in Willows, California.
The cause of these closures is usually cited to the volatility of the healthcare market and the unsustainable future of reimbursement from government payers like Medicaid. The effect is devastation in communities, but most keenly felt in rural neighborhoods where the next option for care is nowhere near home.
Success Story
The default annual mammogram schedule could become a thing of the past. The Journal of the American Medical Association found that tailored breast cancer screenings may be more effective for detecting cancer in early stages. Some women in this study were found to be low-risk based on factors like genetics, lifestyle and medical history, and didn’t need to be screened until a later age. Other women were found to be high-risk and were recommended more frequent monitoring. The study included a group of 14,000 women receiving this tailored care, and another 14,000 undergoing regular annual mammograms. Overall, risk-based screening was proven to detect cancer earlier and help prevent certain risks from becoming more serious concerns. While more research needs to be done before formal guidelines can be formed, this study suggests a patient-focused future for breast cancer screening.
News sources for this episode:
Paige Twenter, “‘Withdrawal crisis’ strains hospitals in several states: 5 notes,” December 16, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/withdrawal-crisis-strains-hospitals-in-several-states-5-notes/, Becker’s Clinical Leadership.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Notes from the Field: Suspected Medetomidine Withdrawal Syndrome Among Fentanyl-Exposed Patients — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 2024–January 2025,” May 1, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7415a2.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Drug Overdose in Rural America as a Public Health Issue,” May 16, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/rural-health/php/public-health-strategy/public-health-considerations-for-drug-overdose-in-rural-america.html.
Madeline Ashley, “23 hospital closures in 2025,” November 17, 2025, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/2-hospital-closures-in-2025/, Becker’s Hospital Review.
Kell West Regional Hospital, https://www.kellwest.com/.
Alyssa Lundy, “Landmark Hospital of Cape Girardeau Announces Closure Due to Unsustainable Healthcare Market Conditions,” September 10, 2025, https://www.landmarkhospitals.com/press, Landmark Hospitals.
Dani Anguiano, “Rural US town outraged as only hospital forced to shut: ‘I would have died without it’,” October 7, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/07/rural-us-town-outraged-as-only-hospital-forced-to-shut-i-would-have-died-without-it, The Guardian.
Dennis Thompson, “Experts: Risk-based breast cancer screenings beat annual mammograms,” December 16, 2025, https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2025/12/16/breast-cancer-screenings-risk-based-annual-clinical-trial/5191765896690/, United Press International.
Rural Health Today is a production of Hillsdale Hospital in Hillsdale, Michigan and a member of the Health Podcast Network. Our host is JJ Hodshire, our producer is Kyrsten Newlon, and our audio engineer is Kenji Ulmer. Special thanks to our special guests for sharing their expertise on the show, and also to the Hillsdale Hospital marketing team. If you want to submit a question for us to answer on the podcast or learn more about Rural Health Today, visit ruralhealthtoday.com.
