[shanover]

They would probably do just as well or better with a clinic or urgent care center.

I totally agree and they are cost effective and work very well. I also agree with others that these are symptoms of larger problems which I think are NOT unsolvable. People who live in this country with less government dependency do well. When the funds dry up this is what happens.Small communities are the ones that die first. Agriculture should still be king down South but corporate farming is killing small farmers and we import way to much when we can produce here. Small business should not have shackles on them. We import too much crap from China that can be made here. Lastly,government policies that kill job growth,raise taxes and stifle the economy turn rural America into Walking Dead towns.

[ClearCase_guy]

Excellent comments. I would like to see government policies altered so that small towns could thrive at a certain level of livability. Do they all need enormous high tech hospitals? No. But a small town should have small business, local agriculture, and some level of general practitioner care so that people can live decent lives. Currently, I think the government makes that harder instead of easier.

Small town life is not for everyone, but the US government is making it not for anyone. And so we get more and more Walking Dead towns.