The Collapse Of A Hospital Empire — And Towns Left In The Wreckage
By Barbara Feder Ostrov and Lauren Weber
Photos by Heidi de Marco
Jorge A. Perez and his management company, EmpowerHMS, helped run an empire of rural hospitals. Now, in a staggering implosion, 12 of them have entered bankruptcy and eight have closed their doors, leaving hundreds of residents without jobs and their communities without lifesaving emergency medical care. So, what happened?