In the seven-state Great Plains region, heart disease accounted for over 45,000 deaths in 2020.  Relative to population size, the heart disease death rate per 100,000 population in the region was slightly better than the national average.  However, consistent with a pattern seen elsewhere, there was a very wide disparity in heart disease death rates between urban and rural populations, with death rates in smaller communities and rural areas being much higher.  Further study of data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) yield the following about urban vs. rural heart disease death rates in the Great Plains region:

Urban vs. Rural Heart Disease Death Rates in the Great Plains Region

County Classification	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
Large Central Metro	4,441	2,819,881	157.5
Large Fringe Metro	8,951	5,016,579	178.4
Medium Metro	7,365	3,793,143	194.2
Small Metro	6,552	3,430,748	191.0
Micropolitan (Nonmetro)	7,739	3,140,344	246.4
NonCore (Nonmetro)	10,012	3,281,139	305.1
Region	45,060	21,481,834	209.8
Nationally	696,962	329,484,123	211.5

(*) number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

States in region:  Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

See the 2013 NCHS Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for additional information on population categories, including a map of which U.S. counties fall in which categories.

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on January 21, 2023

Providing acute inpatient care, short-stay hospitals lie at the heart of the hospital infrastructure that serves over 62 million Americans with Medicare Part A insurance.  As of the calendar year 2020, across the nation there were nearly 3,500 short-stay hospitals, with almost 775,000 beds, participating in the Medicare program. In 2020, the twelve-state Southeastern U.S. was home to more than 17 million Medicare Part A enrollees.  These enrollees were served by 954 short-stay hospitals, with over 223,500 beds, that participated in the Medicare program.  Here is a state-level breakdown of Medicare short-stay hospital beds in the Southeastern U.S.:

Medicare Short Stay Hospital Beds in the Southeastern U.S.

	# Part A Enrollees		# Hospitals	# Beds
AL	1,056,359		83	16,309
AR	645,494		49	9,448
FL	4,674,019		181	59,371
GA	1,754,062		108	20,349
KY	931,126		62	14,490
LA	882,812		87	14,702
MS	609,478		62	10,742
NC	2,028,204		86	22,130
SC	1,101,105		58	11,696
TN	1,382,574		81	21,060
VA	1,540,473		73	17,242
WV	442,495		24	5,992
Region	17,048,200		954	223,531
National*	62,498,751		3,481	774,873
% of National	27.3%		27.4%	28.8%

* National totals include U.S. territories

Source:  CMS Program Statistics, Table: MDCR PROVIDERS 4. Medicare Providers:  Number of Medicare Certified Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Number of Beds, by State, Territories, Possessions, and Other, Calendar Year 2020

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) serve the needs of more than 62 million Americans with Medicare Part A SNF coverage.  SNFs are institutional medical providers equipped and staffed to give skilled nursing care on a daily basis.  In most cases, SNFs can also provide skilled rehabilitative care and certain other related services.  More than 15,000 skilled nursing facilities, having over 1,588,000 beds, participated in the Medicare program in the calendar year 2020.

As of 2020, New England was home to 856 skilled nursing facilities, with over 93,000 beds, that participated in the Medicare program.  Relative to other regions of the country, New England's Medicare enrollees are well-served by SNFs as the region houses more of Medicare's SNF bed capacity (5.9%) than its share of the national Medicare enrollee population (4.9%).  Here is a summary look at Medicare skilled nursing facility beds in New England:

Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Beds in New England

Area	# Part A Enrollees		# SNFs	# Beds
CT	689,967		209	25,138
MA	1,351,220		371	42,800
ME	345,665		93	6,546
NH	307,435		70	7,139
RI	222,702		78	8,350
VT	151,220		35	3,077
Region	3,068,210		856	93,050
National*	62,498,751		15,015	1,588,755
% of National	4.9%		5.7%	5.9%

* National totals include U.S. territories

Data Source:  CMS Program Statistics, Table: MDCR PROVIDERS 4. Medicare Providers:  Number of Medicare Certified Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Number of Beds, by State, Territories, Possessions, and Other, Calendar Year 2020