Michelle Hood, AHA executive vice president and COO, and Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., and chair-elect designate of the AHA Board of Trustees, led a fireside chat on the realities of shepherding rural hospitals through disruption and driving meaningful transformation in times of rapid evolution.
Rural Health Care Leadership Conference News Coverage
The American Hospital Association’s 2022 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, February 6-9, Phoenix, AZ, brings together top practitioners and thinkers to share strategies and resources for accelerating the shift to a more integrated and sustainable rural health system. We’ll examine the most significant operational, financial and environmental challenges including the post-pandemic impact on rural hospitals and their communities, and present innovative approaches that will enable you to transform your organization’s care delivery model and business practices.
Couldn’t attend AHA’s 2022 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference? No problem. Follow along here for updates, and follow along on social media using hashtag #AHARuralHealth for more.
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Capitol Hill was the focus of the second morning of the AHA 2026 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, taking place through tomorrow in San Antonio.
The AHA Feb. 10 released its 2026 Rural Advocacy Agenda, laying out the association's key priorities for Congress, the administration, regulatory agencies and courts.
Rural hospital and health system leaders gathered at the 39th annual AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference this week in San Antonio. Experts, practitioners and providers are sharing strategies, resources and innovative approaches to thrive in the changing landscape of rural health care.
AHA Board of Trustees Chair Marc Boom, M.D., today presented the team from WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital of Keyser, W.Va., with the 2026 Rural Hospital
Over 1,300 rural leaders are gathered at the 2026 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference in San Antonio this week.
All hospital and health system leaders are committed to delivering the best possible care to the people we serve while navigating the changes and challenges we face.
The AHA Feb. 5 announced WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital in Keyser, W.Va., as the 2026 recipient of the new Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award.
Working alongside hospitals and health systems, the American Hospital Association’s Better Health for Mothers and Babies (BHMB) initiative aims to eliminate preventable maternal deaths and reduce pregnancy-related morbidity across the United States.
A new AHA Market Scan Trailblazer report suggests tat rural hospital constraints related to operating margins, workforce shortages, geographic isolation, and growing administrative burden may be accelerating a more pragmatic and targeted approach to artificial intelligence adoption.
More than 57 million rural Americans depend on their hospital not only as an important source of care but also as a critical component of their area's economic and social framework. Rural hospitals also face the same difficulties shared by many hospitals — including financial stress, workforce shortages, and inadequate reimbursement from government payers like Medicare and Medicaid, just to name a few. The AHA is engaged in many advocacy efforts to support rural hospitals and ensure access to care in rural communities.
The House Jan.
The White House hosted a roundtable on rural health Jan. 16 that included health care leaders, legislators and administration officials.
UnitedHealth Group announced Jan. 14 that it launched a six-month pilot program to reduce Medicare Advantage payment processing times by half for rural hospitals in four states.
The AHA Jan. 14 expressed support for the Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act (S. 2169), legislation that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to create a comprehensive workforce strategy to train cybersecurity professionals and develop partnerships to expand the cybersecurity workforce in rural hospitals.
Tina Eden, R.N., CEO of Virginia Gay Hospital, and Jacinda Bunch, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor at the Iowa College of Nursing and senior advisor to Simulation in Motion-Iowa, or SIM-IA, dive into how this mobile clinical education program is delivering high-impact simulation training directly to rural hospitals and EMS teams.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dec. 29 announced $50 billion in funds awarded to all 50 states through the Rural Health Transformation Program.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dec. 19 announced the creation of the Office of Rural Health Transformation.
The early registration deadline for the 2026 AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference is Dec. 12.
Rural hospitals across the country are turning to structured partnership models to help protect essential services, strengthen negotiating leverage and prepare for new payment arrangements.