I've read in the hospital literature that 19 of California's 72 rural hospitals are almost totally dependent on long-term care for their income and an additional 20 or 30 rely on this source for more than half their income. A fairly large fraction of the above are in deep financial doo-doo.
I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that we were all pretty much in the same boat and that the same solution would likely apply to most...namely, change the rules so that the ER, which is a huge drain on the balance sheet, can be shut down without causing the hospital to lose accreditation and therefore more funding.
It's true that a complete shutdown in an isolated area like mine would be far more damaging than in rural areas closer to big-city hospitals...but it would be damaging enough in the latter - especially if there's a relatively easy fix to prevent it.
I'm not sure I've understood the problem correctly but I've proposed my solution. We'll see how it's received.
Have Cal Trans post the following sign on north bound 395 just south of Lone Pine
NO PUBLIC MEDICAL FACILITIES FOR THE NEXT 150 MILES: DRIVE CAREFULLY!