December 10, 2025
To meet the demand for affordable child care, rural healthcare organizations in Indiana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin have partnered with childcare providers, schools, businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations. These healthcare facilities sell or lease space at a steep discount, and one formed a cooperative with other businesses to offer child care.
November 12, 2025
Building on research showing that physicians trained in rural areas are more likely to stay rural, federal funding is supporting new rural residency program start-ups to help mitigate the prediction of a 60% rural physician shortage. Three healthcare leaders, located in sites from rural coast to rural coast, tell their organization's story of how this support is making a difference not just in healthcare access, but impacting their community in other ways.
July 24, 2024
For decades, community health workers (CHWs) provided their services outside usual healthcare reimbursement models. In recent years, with research supporting CHWs as professionals effectively assisting patients with navigating health-related social determinants, federal and private payers are exploring reimbursement mechanisms. Four rural healthcare organizations share both the impact and the continued sustainability challenges — and successes — of their CHW programs.
June 26, 2024
An interview with UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center President Soniya Fidler, who reflects on the journey that took her from an entry-level hospital position to a leadership role and shares insights about the skills needed to transition from management to leadership.
June 12, 2024
While loneliness and social isolation are often viewed as individual problems or even personal failings, there is growing awareness of the structural factors contributing to widespread disconnection. Amid a national "loneliness epidemic," some rural leaders are finding ways to help their neighbors connect.
April 24, 2024
A growing number of rural hospital leaders are beginning to view their infrastructure, purchasing, and investment strategies as crucial extensions of their efforts to improve community health — and, in the long term, bolster their bottom line.
March 27, 2024
Strategic collaboration allows rural organizations to combine resources and expertise to improve care and patient outcomes. Southern Illinois Healthcare, the Iowa Primary Care Association, and Minnesota's Winona Community HUB share how strategic collaboration has helped them conduct community health needs assessments, provide technical assistance to community health centers, connect patients to food and housing, and much more.
January 10, 2024
Rural health expert Tim Putnam, DHA, shares leadership perspectives and ideas gained from his roles as a rural hospital CEO, a member of a White House task force, and now in his academic healthcare policy position.
December 13, 2023
As the pandemic receded, many rural healthcare providers began to feel the acute effects of another crisis impacting communities across the country: a severe local housing shortage. In response, some organizations are forming unique partnerships and implementing creative solutions.
October 4, 2023
Rural hospitals are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attempts to penetrate information systems to create havoc, steal data, or hold information "hostage" for a monetary ransom. Two Critical Access Hospital leaders discuss attacks at their organizations and how they are working to prevent future attacks. An information technology compliance expert also highlights actions organizations can take to better protect themselves from cyber-attacks.
