Author: dianawinder

NRHA Webinar: The ABCs of Rural Wound Care Success: Keeping Patients Local, Improving Outcomes, and Strengthening Margins, December 11

December 2, 2025

NRHA Webinar: The ABCs of Rural Wound Care Success: Keeping Patients Local, Improving Outcomes, and Strengthening Margins, December 11

Chronic wounds quietly drain hospital resources, especially in rural communities where distance and staffing make consistent care a challenge. But when one Critical Access Hospital reframed wound care not only as a clinical priority but also as a financial and marketing strategy, the results spoke for themselves: a 92.2% healing rate and a median of 28 days to heal.

In this presentation, Will Evans, RN, an operations leader supporting more than 35 hospital wound programs across the Midwest, and Diane Weiss, RCMS, CPC, CPB, CH

RI, a national expert in revenue integrity and documentation, share what worked, what didn’t, and how those lessons can strengthen care delivery and margins in your own hospital.

Through the ABCs of Rural Wound Care – Advanced Care, Billing and Community Buy-In – attendees will:

  • Identify the key elements that bring wound care services to the next level in a rural setting.
  • Understand how wound-specific billing and documentation improve both reimbursement and compliance.
  • Explore practical ways to build community awareness and staff engagement to support long-term growth.

Cost: free

When: Thursday, December 11, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

NRHA Webinar: Thriving in the AI Era: Rural Healthcare Leaders Share Real-World Results, December 10

December 2, 2025

NRHA Webinar: Thriving in the AI Era: Rural Healthcare Leaders Share Real-World Results, December 10

Artificial intelligence is changing how rural hospitals approach efficiency, workforce strain, and documentation.

In this interactive discussion, Dr. Yair Saperstein, MD, MPH, a physician leader with extensive experience serving in rural and underserved settings, moderates a conversation with executives from Cascade Medical (WA) and Ohio County Healthcare (KY) on how they are applying AI to reduce charting time, improve discharge planning, and strengthen reimbursement accuracy without adding staff or IT burden.

Panelists Pat Songer, COO and Chief of EMS at Cascade Medical (WA) and Dr. Athena Minor, DNP, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing and Clinical Officer at Ohio County Healthcare (KY), bring extensive experience advancing operations, workforce strategy, and quality outcomes in rural hospitals. They’ll share how their teams evaluated, implemented, and measured AI solutions to improve efficiency, documentation, and care delivery – while maintaining the personal, resource-minded approach that defines rural healthcare.

Attendees will walk away with real examples and practical steps for integrating AI workflows that reduce burnout and free clinicians to focus more on patient care.

This is an interactive session. Come ready to share your perspective and br4ing your questions for the panel.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session participants will:

  • Discover peer-tested strategies for using AI to simplify documentation and discharge planning.
  • Learn how rural hospitals are evaluating and implementing AI tools that fit their size, staffing, and capacity.
  • Review measurable results demonstrating impact on reimbursement, efficiency, and staff well-being
  • Identify next steps for responsibly integrating AI into existing workflows to support sustainable operations.

Cost:  Free

When: Wednesday, December 10, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

NRHA Webinar: Strategies for Rural Providers in a Post-OBBBA Landscape, December 9

December 2, 2025

NRHA Webinar: Strategies for Rural Providers in a Post-OBBBA Landscape, December 9

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will change how care is funded, reported, and sustained – and rural leaders need clarity, not commentary. This session breaks down what the legislation means for your bottom line, operations, and long-term stability, offering clear steps to stay ahead of what’s coming.

Presenters will translate complex policy shifts into practical strategies: how to model financial impact, use transparency data to strengthen payer negotiations, and build operational readiness that lasts beyond the first wave of reform.

Learning Objectives

  • Pinpoint which OBBBA provisions will most affect rural systems.
  • Use data modeling to forecast reimbursement and service-line impact.
  • Strengthen financial and operational resilience through diversification and analytics.
  • Build a proactive roadmap to navigate compliance and sustain community access.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, December 9, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: The State of Rural Provider Compensation in 2025: Rural Physician & Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey Results, December 3

December 2, 2025

Webinar: The State of Rural Provider Compensation in 2025: Rural Physician & Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey Results, December 3

Rural healthcare organizations are facing increasing pressure to balance fair provider compensation with financial sustainability and compliance. The 2025 Rural Physician and Advanced p0ractice Provider Compensation Survey, developed by Stroudwater Associates in partnership with the NRHA and the NOSORH, reveals significant variations in provider pay and exposes widespread challenges in linking compensation to productivity, quality, and market realities.

Join Stroudwater’s physician team as they share key findings from the 2025 survey and explore strategies rural leaders can use to align provider compensation, including trends in pay structure, productivity, and incentive alignment for physicians and advanced practice providers.

Key Takeaways:

  • Understand the latest compensation trends across rural hospitals and clinics, including how shifts in salary and incentive models are impacting recruitment, retention, and sustainability.
  • Identify compliance risks and FMV challenges revealed by the 2025 data, including uncertainty about CMS Physician Fee Schedule usage.
  • Learn how to balance financial performance with fair compensation to ensure provider pay supports your organization’s mission and market position.
  • See where your organization stands compared to national benchmarks for family medicine, anesthesia, and advanced practice providers.
  • Discover actionable strategies to evolve provider compensation models toward sustainable, incentive-based frameworks that reward performance and quality.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, December 3, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

RHIhub This Week

December 2, 2025

RHIhub This Week

RHIhub This Week keeps you informed of the latest rural news, funding opportunities, publications and events.

Click Here to View RHIhub

Webinar: AI, OBBBA, and the Future of Care: How Health Systems are Preparing for 2026, December 2

December 1, 2025

Webinar: AI, OBBBA, and the Future of Care: How Health Systems are Preparing for 2026, December 2

As 2026 approaches, health systems are bracing for the ripple effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), rising labor costs, and the accelerating pace of AI adoption. Leaders are being asked to improve efficiency, retain staff, and integrate AI into clinical workflows without adding complexity or cost.

Hear from clinical leaders at UPMC, Kaiser Permanente, and St. Luke’s (Idaho) as they discuss 2026 preparations and share practical ways to improve operations, reduce burnout, and support your teams.

Insights will include:

  • Preparing for OBBBA’s impact on staffing and reimbursement,
  • Using AI to streamline HER and scheduling, and
  • Improving surgical workflows for outpatient care.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, December 2, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Workplace Violence + $61K Turnover Costs: 1 Strategy to Tackle Both, December 11

December 1, 2025

Webinar: Workplace Violence + $61K Turnover Costs: 1 Strategy to Tackle Both, December 11

Violence against healthcare workers has reached a crisis point and hospitals are paying the price. With workplace violence costing billions and turnover averaging $61,110 er departure, the stakes are too high to treat safety and retention as separate challenges.

Forward-thinking systems are reframing visitor management as a strategic platform, one that reduces violence, builds staff trust and supports broader workforce stability.

In this session, learn how leading hospitals are achieving up to a 62% drop in violent incidents and an 81% reduction in staff-reported stress by addressing root causes at the front door.

Key takeaways:

  • How visitor management influences workforce wellbeing and organizational risk,
  • Scenarios and metrics that resonate with executive stakeholders, and
  • A blueprint for aligning safety strategy with retention goals.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, December 11, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Whitepaper: Steps for a Scalable, Profitable Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Program

December 1, 2025

Whitepaper:  Steps for a Scalable, Profitable Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Program

Launching or expanding telehealth and remote patient monitoring without a clear plan puts clinical and financial ROI at risk. But some health systems are proving that success is achievable when the right foundation is in place.

This whitepaper offers a practical, step-by-step guide for building a scalable, sustainable virtual care program. Informed by national health system case studies and expert input from clinical, financial and implementation teams. It breaks down what works – and what doesn’t – when scaling digital care.

Download the Guide to Learn:

  • How to define clinical and financial goals that drive RPM success,
  • What to ask when evaluating telehealth technology partners – including 15 essential questions, and
  • Proven ways to build internal buy-in and assemble a high-performing virtual care team.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Webinar: When Nursing Judgment Meets AI: How to Empower Clinical Teams for Earlier Action, December 10

December 1, 2025

Webinar: When Nursing Judgment Meets AI: How to Empower Clinical Teams for Earlier Action, December 10

Nurses are often the first to sense patient decline. In this webinar, experts in nursing and data share how clinical observations and documentation patterns helped drive an AI-based early warning tool – helping teams act up to 48 hours sooner than standard approaches.

Beyond the results of the groundbreaking CONCERN clinical trial, the discussion will explore what true nurse-led innovation looks like. Panelists will unpack how transparent, explainable AI tools can strengthen clinical judgment, reduce burden and help teams focus on meaningful care. This is a conversation about harnessing nursing expertise, not replacing it.

Top 3 Learnings:

  • How thoughtfully designed and implemented AI can help nurses keep patients safe,
  • What makes AI adoption successful in clinical workflows – transparency, trust and minimal disruption, and
  • How nurses can guide ethical, equitable AI design that enhances teamwork and patient safety.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, December 10, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register