The following is an op-ed by CCSNJ President & CEO Christina Renna, published today in BINJE: “South Jersey’s rural hospitals are an economic lifeline – they must not be left behind”

In South Jersey, health care is about more than doctor visits and hospital stays — it is a crucial part of our region’s economic foundation. Hospitals, health systems, and community health centers are among the largest employers in many of our communities. They keep people working, support local families, and help industries like agriculture, food production and logistics operate every day.

But many of the hospitals serving our rural and harder-to-reach communities are under serious strain, and that should concern anyone who cares about South Jersey’s future. Like transportation and energy, healthcare is essential infrastructure. Without a strong health care system, regional economies simply cannot function — and they certainly cannot grow.

The federal Rural Health Transformation Fund was created to support communities like those across southern New Jersey by strengthening and modernizing rural health care systems. Its purpose is to help relieve growing financial pressures, maintain access to care, address workforce shortages, and support needed infrastructure improvements — challenges that are especially severe in rural areas, where higher per-patient costs and access barriers cannot be fully addressed through funding formulas based largely on population counts alone.

At the same time, hospitals are increasingly caring for patients beyond their walls and must invest in new, innovative models of care to meet changing needs. Starting this year, New Jersey will receive more than $147 million from the fund, representing a meaningful opportunity to expand access and strengthen care in communities with the greatest need. As the state moves forward with the next phase of funding allocations, the Sherrill Administration has an opportunity to ensure these investments fully reflect the program’s original intent — strengthening communities facing persistent challenges. Directing these resources to communities facing the greatest barriers to care will help maximize their impact and deliver lasting benefits for patients, providers, and the broader regional economy.

Counties such as Salem, Cumberland, Burlington, Cape May, Ocean and Atlantic contain some of New Jersey’s most rural and underserved communities. Health care realities look different in these harder-to-reach areas — residents often travel longer distances for care, provider shortages are more pronounced, and health care infrastructure faces significant modernization needs. A much larger share of patients also rely on Medicaid or have no insurance at all. For many residents, this can mean traveling an hour or more for emergency care, maternity services, or behavioral health treatment — a reality that directly affects workforce participation and community stability.

We have already seen how fragile the system can be. Rural hospitals often operate on razor-thin margins while serving communities with high rates of chronic illness, behavioral health needs, and substance use disorders. At the same time, many funding formulas rely on population counts rather than the real costs of delivering care across large, less densely populated areas. This puts rural providers at a disadvantage and makes it harder for regions like South Jersey to maintain stability and invest in the care and resources their communities need.

These realities make the distribution of Rural Health Transformation funding especially important, presenting a critical opportunity to strengthen and sustain rural health care systems in South Jersey. When funding decisions do not fully account for these realities, the program’s impact is diluted, leaving hospitals and clinics serving our most vulnerable communities under strain and limiting their ability to maintain essential services, recruit providers, and invest in the staff and care capacity their communities depend on. The result is fewer services available locally, longer travel times for care, and growing pressure on facilities already operating with thin margins — outcomes that affect both patient care and the region’s economic health. The solution is clear, the intent is already established, and the need is immediate. Aligning Rural Health Transformation funding with rural realities is not an unreasonable request — it is a recommitment to the promise already made, strengthening care across all of New Jersey.

The Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey is encouraging the Sherrill Administration and policymakers across state government to ensure Rural Health Transformation funding goes where it is needed most: to the hospitals, clinics, and community providers that keep South Jersey’s workforce healthy and our economy moving. Urban providers face their own pressures, but rural systems lack the scale and proximity that urban areas rely on.

Strengthening our rural hospitals and care providers, protecting in-person access to care, and modernizing rural health care delivery are not just health policy goals – they are economic necessities.

When rural health care is strong, South Jersey is strong – and our economic future depends on getting this right.