Washita county, in western Oklahoma, has given up on the Women, Infant, and Children program, The Oklahoman reports.
The WIC program provides nutrition services to young children and pregnant women. The announcement came from the Cordell Memorial Hospital, who administers the program. Officials said they can no longer afford to provide the nutrition for free to local mothers and children.
Many rural hospitals in Oklahoma have struggled in recent years. Since 2011, nine rural hospitals in the state have filed for bankruptcy. Oklahoma is one of a number of states who have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This decision cut off rural hospitals from much-needed federal funding.
Washita County voted three years ago to end a sales tax that would have helped the hospital, and last year Cordell Memorial stopped offering immunizations.
