Is Rural Georgia Dying? Literally?
A basic premise of Trouble in God’s Country is that rural Georgia is dying. Truth is, I’ve meant that figuratively rather than literally – a reference to local economies gutted by globalization and other factors, failing schools and small hospitals in danger of closing, among other things.
Recently, however, I read an article that made passing reference to the growing number of rural counties across the country where deaths outnumber births. I wondered if that might be the case in Georgia.
A quick dive back into the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (DPH) OASIS system produced some pretty startling results. Read more