A nurse practitioner is returning to his hometown to provide health care as rural hospitals close and it becomes harder to access preventive care.
Family nurse practitioner John Hodges stands in front of his practice at Ralls Family Medicine on Sept. 1. Ralls is a small town about 30 miles east of Lubbock., our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Even as Hodges tries to help his community, he still faces the financial uncertainty that plagues the majority of rural clinics. His uncertainty is reflected on the bare walls of the Ralls Family Medicine clinic.Flags fly in front of Main Street in Ralls on Sept. 1, 2022.Downtown Ralls. The town had 1,665 people as of the 2020 Census.Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune
The clinic was not Hodges’ original idea — Terry Hitt called Hodges earlier this year. Hitt, the new mayor of Ralls, said Crosbyton’s hospital is barely there — there are only two open beds for patients — so he wanted a clinic in Ralls. And he wanted Hodges, who treated so many people in the town before, to lead it.“It is something we needed here, instead of driving over to Lubbock,” Hitt said.
It’s different from what Hodges is used to. He’s worked in offices that charge significantly more, but that cost weighed on him.
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