1. Complete the Module 5 Readings prior to working on this assignment. Document your thoughts as you read. 
2. Conduct research for the following topics. You must incorporate research to support your answers from at least three scholarly resources, which you may acquire by searching the Franklin University Library (Links to an external site.) databases or professional research journals.
   • The number of short-stay, nonprofit hospitals in the U.S. reached a high of almost 6,300 in the early 1970s; however, by 2006 the number declined to about 5,700. What accounts for the decline? What are some of the potential effects of the decline with regard to patient access? Does the effects make a difference? Why or why not?
   • Hospitals, once a major provider of secondary care, have lost this service to other providers. Who are some of these providers? Why has the provision of certain services shifted away from the inpatient setting?
   • Using the Barton pdf, locate the information and graphs related to the changes in inpatient services and explain the many reasons for these changes. Be specific about the numbers and figures from the charts and graphs in the Barton pdf. When citing this resource, simply cite the course material.

3. Write a three- to four-page paper in which you address the items that you researched.

• You must incorporate research into your paper from at least three relevant, scholarly resources. 
• Follow all applicable APA Guidelines (Links to an external site.) regarding in-text citations, list of cited references, and document formatting for this paper. Failure to properly cite and reference sources constitutes plagiarism. 
• The title page and reference list are not included in the page count for this paper.