Closure of Safety Net Hospitals on Public Health:

Throughout the history of health care in the United States, there has been a huge increase in the number of hospitals. For instance, the country experienced an increase in the number of hospitals from 178 in 1873 to 7,200 by 1970. Modern hospitals are characterized with relatively complex organizational structures since they are multi-faceted businesses with different chains of command including various departments, lines of authority and responsibility, and committees.

Despite of the increase in the number of hospitals, America has also experienced hospital closures since 1980 of approximately 1,500 hospitals and a 33% decrease in-patient days. The closures have included registered, state and local government, non-governmental, and investor-owned hospitals that will result in the eventual reduction of the number of these facilities to 4,500.

Safety net hospitals serve as the bedrock of America's national health insurance system whose main mission is...
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