Having chest pains?  Cut off a finger?  Need medical care now? For anyone living in a rural area there is no guarantee the closest hospital can provide needed emergency care.  Signs may say “Hospital” and the doors may be open, but odds are they will not have the capability or staff to care for an urgent need or life-threatening emergency.  Logic tells us in an emergency increased time and distance can be life-threatening.  One study found that rural hospital closures are associated with a 5.9 percent increase in inpatient mortality.