Rural Spotlight

Webinar: How Ascension Living is Balancing Per Diem Flexibility with Long-term Workforce Stability, February 10

January 27, 2026

Webinar: How Ascension Living is Balancing Per Diem Flexibility with Long-term Workforce Stability, February 10

Flexible staffing can enhance agility, but without the right design, it can strain teams and budgets. In today’s healthcare environment, leaders are increasingly pairing per diem staffing with centralized float pools and technology to optimize coverage, reduce administrative burden and support clinician well-being.

In this webinar, Erin Shadbolt, MSN, RN, CEO of Ascension Living, joins workforce strategy leaders to share how they’re achieving scalable staffing models that preserve continuity of care, reduce administrative burden and enhance the clinician experience.

Whether you’re navigating labor shortages or preparing for census surges, this session offers practical strategies to flex staffing without compromising team cohesion or financial stability.

Key learning points:

  • Use per diem talent to meet surge demand without losing team culture,
  • Leverage technology and data-rich dashboards to reduce manual work and optimize staffing decisions, and
  • Design staffing models that enhance clinician experience, reduce burnout and stabilize staffing.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 10, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: How Hospitals are Making Resident Well-Being Core to GME, February 5

January 27, 2026

Webinar: How Hospitals are Making Resident Well-Being Core to GME, February 5

Residency has always been demanding. But today’s trainees face new stressors layered on top of old ones: HER overload, reduced autonomy, economic pressure and social isolation.

Traditional mental health models weren’t built for this – and residents are feeling the strain.

In this live webinar, join Mickey Trockel, MD, director of evidence-based innovation for Stanford University School of Medicine’s WellMD Center and Robert Flora, MD, chief academic officer and vice president of academic affairs at McLaren Health Care, to examine how modern graduate medical education is reshaping the mental health landscape.

They’ll explore the unique vulnerabilities of residents, how the training environment is changing in ways leaders underestimate, and why common mental health approaches fail in GME and what actually works.

Insights include:

  • How new GME dynamics interact with longstanding mental health risks,
  • Why traditional wellness programs often fail and what to replace them with, and
  • Practical steps to embed mental health infrastructure across training programs.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, February 5, 11:00 am. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Save the Date: Workforce Development Summit, April 15 – 16

January 27, 2026

Save the Date: Workforce Development Summit, April 15 – 16

The Department of Corrections, in partnership with the Office of Administration, will host a two-day Reentry Employment Summit focused on hiring individuals reentering the workforce after completing the sentence with the Department of Corrections.

Day 1 – April 15, 2026 (State Agencies):

  • Missouri Reentry Statistics – Presented by the Council of State Governments
  • Lived Experience Panel – Featuring individuals and employers
  • Trauma-Informed Care
  • Facility Tour at Algoa Correctional Center/Jefferson City Correctional Center

Day 2 – April 16, 2026 (Non-Governmental Employers):

  • Institutional Reentry Services
  • VR Headset Demonstration
  • Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development – Employer resources for second-chance hiring
  • Career & Technical Education Programs
  • Facility tour at ACC/JCCC

This summit is an excellent opportunity for stakeholders interested in second-chance employment to learn about the process, benefits, and available support services.

Additional details will be shared as they become available.

Registration is Open: MO GME Summit 2026

January 27, 2026

Registration is Open: MO GME Summit 2026

Join healthcare leaders, educators, policymakers, and community partners from across the state at the MO GME Summit 2026, taking place April 16-17. 2026, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia, Missouri.

This annual gathering brings together healthcare leaders, educator teams, policymakers, clinical partners, and community stakeholders who share a commitment to strengthening Missouri’s physician workforce.

The Summit brings together stakeholders committed to growing residency training capacity, supporting sustainable GME programs, and retaining physicians in Missouri’s urban, rural, and underserved communities. Through expert-led sessions, peer-to-peer learning, and collaborative discussions, participants will explore practical strategies and innovative models that support workforce development across the continuum – from program planning to long-term physician retention.

Whether your organization is expanding an existing residency program, preparing to launch a new one, or exploring GME as a workforce solution, the MO GME Summit offers timely insights, policy and funding updates, and meaningful opportunities to connect with partners shaping the future of medical education in Missouri.

Cost: $250.00

When: April 16-17

Where: Hilton Garden Inn, 3300 Vandiver Dr., Columbia, MO 65202

Click Here to Learn More and Register

On-Demand Webinar: Recoupments 101: The Biggest RCM Problem No one’s Talking About

January 27, 2026

On-Demand Webinar: Recoupments 101: The Biggest RCM Problem No one’s Talking About

For ASCs and ambulatory providers, recoupments can be devastating. A single payer takeback can wipe out weeks of margin, strain small billing teams and trigger rework that outpatient workflows aren’t built to handle.

Yet recoupments – also called takebacks or chargebacks – remain one of the least understood revenue cycle risks in ambulatory care.

This on-demand webinar breaks down how recoupments work in ASC and ambulatory settings and why treating them like denials puts organizations at risk.

Attendees will take away a clear, practical primer on payer audits, retroactive adjustments and provider-level balances, with a focus on how these issues uniquely impact outpatient revenue cycles.

Learnings include:

  • Recoupment terminology and why confusion costs ASCs real dollars,
  • The true financial and operational impact on ambulatory revenue cycles,
  • How payer audits and retroactive adjustments drive outpatient takebacks,
  • Why denial workflows fail in ASC environments, and
  • How visibility and automation can help ambulatory teams regain control

This webinar is on-demand and can be viewed at your convenience

Click Here to Access this On-Demand Webinar

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Recall Alert

January 27, 2026

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Recall Alert

Abbott has initiated a medical device correction for certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and Free

Style Libre 3 Plus sensors in the United States after internal testing determined that some sensors may provide incorrect low glucose readings.

If undetected, incorrect low glucose readings over an extended period may lead to incorrect treatment decisions for people living with diabetes, such as excessive carbohydrate intake or skipping or delaying insulin doses. These decisions may pose serious health risks, including potential injury or death, or other less serious complications.

Abbott has identified and resolved the cause of the issue, which relates to one production line among several that make Libre 3 and Libre 3 Plus sensors to fulfill replacement and new orders and does not expect significant supply disruptions.

This action involves approximately 3 million Libre 3 and Libre 3 Plus sensors in the U.S. from that production line, about half of which are estimated to have expired or been used. Globally, Abbott has received reports of 736 severe events (57 in the U.S.) and seven deaths (none in the U.S.) potentially associated with this issue.

Important Instructions for People Using Libre 3 or Libre 3 Plus Sensors:

Abbott is issuing this medical device correction in other affected countries where Libre 3 and Libre 3 Plus sensors are distributed.

Consumers in other countries can also visit https://www.freestylecheck.com/us-en/home.html for more information.

NACCHO Webinar: Empowering Rural Health Practitioners, January 28

January 22, 2026

NACCHO Webinar: Empowering Rural Health Practitioners, January 28

Join NACCHO for an engaging webinar showcasing newly published trainings designed to support rural public health professionals and organizations. The session will feature presentations from NORC at the University of Chicago, Public Health Innovation Lab (PHIL), and Cornell University, each highlighting practical approaches and strategies embedded in their courses.

Following the presentations there will be an opportunity to answer all your questions with a dynamic panel discussion with all speakers exploring how these trainings can be applied in real-world settings.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, January 28, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Access to Health Care by Rurality and Disability Status

January 22, 2026

Access to Health Care by Rurality and Disability Status

People with disabilities face challenges with finding accessible transportation, barriers in access to quality care, as well as increased financial burdens. Although access to care is a population health concern, there is less research on how access varies at the intersection of rurality and disability status.

This policy brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center examines various financial and non-financial barriers to health care access among rural and urban individuals by disability status.

Click Here to Read More

HRSA Announces New Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

January 22, 2026

HRSA Announces New Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines

This month, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (FORHP’s) parent agency announced updated cervical cancer screening guidelines that include a new option for women to self-collect samples for screening. Additionally, the guideline includes new language requiring most insurance plans to cover any additional testing needed to complete the screening process for malignancies.

Recent research shows a rate of cervical cancer that is 25 percent higher in rural areas; the same study found the rate of cervical cancer deaths is 42 percent higher.

Click Here to Learn More.

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

January 22, 2026

Telehealth Funding Opportunity – Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is forecasting four funding opportunities to be released in the coming months. These programs will support innovations in telehealth technology to improve health outcomes for all Americans and increase access to health care.

The Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program will support the use of technology-enabled collaborative learning to improve retention of health care providers and increase access to health care services in rural and underserved areas.

Estimated Post Date: February 2, 2026

Estimated Application Due Date: April 03, 2026

Eligible Applicants

  • County governments
  • Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
  • Native American tribal governments
  • Private institutions of higher education
  • For profit organizations other than small businesses
  • Small businesses
  • Independent school districts
  • Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  • State governments
  • Special district governments
  • Native American tribal organizations
  • City or township governments
  • Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS

Click Here to Learn More and Subscribe