Bryan, Ohio's hospital, is losing money, making it vulnerable to big health systems seeking domination and Phil Ennen, CEO, has been fighting to preserve its independence. Meanwhile, Bryan, a town of 8,500 people in Ohio’s northwest corner, is still trying to recover from the Great Recession.
By following the struggle for survival of one small-town hospital, and the patients who walk, or are carried, through its doors, Brian Alexander’s new book “The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town” takes readers into the world of the American medical industry. Americans are dying sooner, and living in poorer health. Alexander argues that no plan will solve America’s health crisis until the deeper causes of that crisis are addressed.