The New York Times reported earlier this week that hospital emergency rooms, particularly those serving the urban poor, are closing at an alarming rate even as emergency visits are rising.

In 1990, there were 2,446 hospitals with emergency departments in nonrural areas. That number dropped to 1,779 in 2009, even as the total number of emergency room visits nationwide increased by roughly 35 percent.

Emergency departments were most likely to have closed if they served large numbers of the poor, were at commercially operated hospitals, were in hospitals with skimpy profit margins or operated in highly competitive markets, the researchers found.

The article provides an interesting look at issues not normally covered.