Providers at Lone Star Family Health Center have seen an influx of young patients following the closure of a rural hospital that also offered primary care in Trinity, Texas. Most of the patients live in rural communities with few or no options for family or pediatric care. Trinity’s hospital closed after operating for just 14 months due to financial constraints in the small southeastern Texas community. According to the Texas Tribune , it was the second time the rural hospital was opened and shuttered. The hospital closure had an impact on primary care in the area as well, after a local primary care physician who also accepted Medicaid patients, stopped practicing. The closure has forced patients to seek emergency and primary health care farther away, but their options are limited as more than a third of the town’s population is living in poverty. What has happened in Trinity reflects a broader, national issue: a lack of access to quality, affordable health providers in rural areas.…