Rural Spotlight

Funding Opportunity: The T-Mobile Hometown Grants Spring Cycle, Apply by March 1

February 11, 2026

Funding Opportunity: The T-Mobile Hometown Grants Spring Cycle, Apply by March 1

The T-Mobile Grants Spring Cycle is now accepting applications from eligible rural communities across the United States. This funding opportunity is designed to support community led projects in towns with populations under $50,000, helping small communities thrive through targeted investments in local spaces and infrastructure.

Grants of up to $50,000 are available to support a wide range of initiatives, including technology upgrades, outdoor and public spaces, arts and cultural projects, and community centers. Funded projects should demonstrate a clear community benefit and contribute to long-term vitality and connection within rural areas.

T-Mobile reviews applications on a quarterly basis, providing multiple opportunities throughout the year for communities to apply.

Eligible applicants are encouraged to review program guidelines carefully and submit proposals that highlight community impact and readiness for implementation here.

Application deadline is March 1.

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

Webinar: Strategic Readiness for Aging Populations: How 4 Health Systems are Preparing, February 24

February 11, 2026

Webinar: Strategic Readiness for Aging Populations: How 4 Health Systems are Preparing, February 24

Aging populations are accelerating demand for neurological care, pushing health systems to rethink how and when they identify cognitive decline.

Traditional assessment models rely heavily on cognitive testing and structural imaging, which can limit visibility into early or functional change. As volumes rise and access tightens, this lack of clarity can create downstream strain across neurology, care coordination and utilization.

In this webinar, leaders from AdventHealth Orlando, Encompass Health, Mass General Brigham and University Hospitals examine how functional brain assessment can complement existing tools to support earlier, more confident clinical decision making. The discussion will focus on where current models break down and how executives can evaluate emerging diagnostic technologies through a clinical operational and strategic lens.

Speakers will explore how earlier insight into brain function can help guide next-step care, prioritize referrals and support clearer pathways as health systems prepare for the next decade of brain health demand.

Insights include:

  • How aging-driven growth in cognitive conditions is creating systemwide clinical and operational pressure,
  • Where cognitive tests and structural imaging leave gaps in early or functional assessment,
  • How functional brain assessment can support risk stratification and treatment planning, and
  • What leaders should consider when building a long-term brain health strategy.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 24, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: How Boston Medical Center Created 3,200+ Days of New Capacity, March 4

February 11, 2026

Webinar: How Boston Medical Center Created 3,200+ Days of New Capacity, March 4

Boston Medical Center faced the same challenge many systems are grappling with: beds staying full longer than necessary because getting patients home safely took too long.

BMC turned to AI to transform how teams identify patients ready for home and proactively coordinate their transitions. After automating care operations, BMC eliminated 3,200 excess days – that’s 9 years of patient time freed up. That’s capacity created without construction, without adding staff, and without compromising care.

In this webinar, Christopher Manasseh, MD, associate chief medical officer for inpatient operations at Boston Medical Center, shares how the organization shifted from manual discharge planning to automated capacity creation – helping more patients transition home sooner while saving 25,400 FTE hours and $3.2 million annually.

You’ll learn:

  • How BMC reduced the administrative burden that delays home transitions,
  • Practical lessons for driving staff adoption without disrupting care delivery, and
  • How automated care operations directly impact throughput, capacity and patient outcomes.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, March 4, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Breaking the 80% Barrier: How Trusted Data Accelerates Enterprise Healthcare AI, February 17

February 11, 2026

Webinar: Breaking the 80% Barrier: How Trusted Data Accelerates Enterprise Healthcare AI, February 17

While AI is everywhere in healthcare strategy discussions, most initiatives never make it past pilot. Nearly 80 percent of healthcare AI efforts stall because the underlying data is fragmented, unreliable or difficult to govern at scale.

The discussion focuses on how health systems are supporting use cases like predictive readmissions, operational optimization and precision medicine by strengthening data accuracy, integration, security, explainability and access across the enterprise.

Key takeaways include:

  • The five data barriers preventing 80 percent of healthcare AI initiatives from scaling,
  • A step-by-step data readiness framework that reduces manual preparation by 60 – 80 percent, and
  • How trusted data foundations drive 3-5x faster deployment and 30-40 percent accuracy gains.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 17, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Whitepaper: Population Health Under Pressure: What Leaders From 3 Regions Are Doing Differently

February 11, 2026

Whitepaper: Population Health Under Pressure: What Leaders From 3 Regions Are Doing Differently

Health systems are expected to improve outcomes, reduce disparities and manage chronic disease all while absorbing rising costs and tighter reimbursement.

Leaders from health systems across the country are finding ways to align mission with margin through stronger collaborations, smarter data and clearer ROI.

This whitepaper captures insights and use cases from C-suite and population health leaders. From funding SDoH programs amid Medicaid cuts to reshaping incentives around primary care access, they share the challenges and solutions shaping population health’s next chapter.

Get Insights On:

  • How one system used analytics to target 30,000+ patients and connect with up to 15,000,
  • Why more leaders are shifting from ROI to contribution margin and how to speak CFO, and
  • What makes health system-pharma collaboration work (and how to measure success).

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

On-Demand Webinar: Better RCM Outcomes, Same System – How Smart Strategy Can Beat Back Rising Denials

February 11, 2026

On-Demand Webinar: Better RCM Outcomes, Same System – How Smart Strategy Can Beat Back Rising Denials

Rising denials and long reimbursement cycles are common complaints – even among practices with leading EHR platforms. Technology alone isn’t solving the revenue challenge.

Some practices, however, are seeing a different outcome. By making strategic adjustments to how they manage revenue cycle workflows, they’re achieving up to 98% clean claims, fewer delays and less staff fatigue with the tools they’ve already invested in.

In this on-demand session, hear the practical steps these top-performing groups using athenahealth are taking to unlock better results from the same system.

What you’ll take away:

  • Proven tactics to reduce denials and clean up claims faster,
  • Steps to accelerate payments and shorten A/R cycles, and
  • Lessons in offloading administrative burden without adding headcount.

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

Click Here to Download On-Demand Webinar

Asthma Echo, February 10, 17 & 24

February 10, 2026

Asthma Echo, February 10, 17 & 24

Do you have a complex Asthma situation or scenario in your practice? Join Show-Me ECHO to bring it to the ECHO for discussion and expand your knowledge.

When:

All sessions are held every Tuesday in the months of January, February, April, May, September & October from 12 – 1 p.m. CT.

Benefits:

  • Share & discuss challenges with peers,
  • Earn free continuing education credits,
  • Free
  • Virtual

Who Should Attend:

  • Physicians,
  • School nurses,
  • Psychologists, and
  • Social workers

Click Here to Register or Submit a Case at Showmeecho.org

Whitepaper: 20 Criteria Hospital Leaders Should Use to Evaluate Telepsychiatry

February 10, 2026

Whitepaper: 20 Criteria Hospital Leaders Should Use to Evaluate Telepsychiatry

Hospitals are under increasing pressure to expand behavioral health access while managing emergency department congestion, inpatient capacity and limited psychiatric coverage.

Many organizations have adopted telepsychiatry to reduce boarding and improve access, yet leaders often struggle to evaluate which partners can meet hospital-level standards for quality, reliability and integration. Without a clear framework, critical gaps in credentialing, response times or workflows can be missed.

This whitepaper offers a practical checklist outlining 20 criteria to guide telepsychiatry partner evaluations. It helps hospital leaders move beyond surface features to assess long-term clinical, operational and financial fit.

Key takeaways include:

  • How virtual behavioral health services can improve access and reduce ED bottlenecks,
  • Quality, credentialing and governance criteria leaders should assess,
  • Operational and technology requirements that support timely consults, and
  • Reporting and financial considerations that impact sustainability.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: 4 Costly Technology Challenges Hospitals Can Solve with AI Today

February 10, 2026

Whitepaper: 4 Costly Technology Challenges Hospitals Can Solve with AI Today

Hospitals face mounting pressure to improve efficiency, control costs, and safeguard patient car – all while managing increasingly complex medical equipment inventories. This article explores four practical ways artificial intelligence (AI) can help inventories.

From improving inventory accuracy and reducing downtime through predictive maintenance to streamlining procurement and controlling non-labor expenses, AI offers measurable impact where it matters most.

Learn how aligning innovation with clear objectives, robust data, and strategic priorities can transform healthcare technology management (HTM) into a driver of operational resilience and financial performance.

After reading this white paper, readers will be able to:

  • List the key operational areas where health systems struggle to fully utilize medical equipment data to maximize productivity.
  • Identify where AI applications can complement the skills of healthcare technology management teams.
  • Name KPIs that can be used to effectively measure the impact of AI solutions in medical device management.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Webinar: Why Language Barriers at Discharge Create Avoidable Risk, March 17

February 10, 2026

Webinar: Why Language Barriers at Discharge Create Avoidable Risk, March 17

Patient discharge is one of the most vulnerable points in the care journey. When instructions are unclear or inaccurately translated, patients face higher risk of confusion, non-adherence and readmission.

Health systems often depend on translation tools that were not designed for healthcare. These tools can miss clinical context, misinterpret medical terminology and fail to integrate into documentation workflows, creating challenges for both care teams and IT leaders responsible for data integrity and compliance.

During this webinar, Nuvance Health’s CMO will discuss why improving discharge communication is essential to patient safety and how technology leaders can reduce risk without adding complexity for clinicians.

Key Takeaways Include:

  • Why accurate discharge communication is critical to patient safety,
  • The role of healthcare-specific language services in clinical settings,
  • How cloud-based approaches support scale and reliability, and
  • Governance and security considerations for multilingual data

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, March 17, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register