Rural Spotlight

May 27, 2026

Webinar: AI-Native Clinical Services: A Scalable Blueprint for CMS Rural Health Transformation, June 18

Rural health systems are under pressure to improve outcomes, expand access, and control costs while facing persistent workforce shortages. But what if transformation didn’t require adding more staff using AI?

Join Microsoft, Andor Health, and Balland Health to learn how AI-native clinical services are enabling a new model for rural care delivery that scales intelligently across large and geographically dispersed populations. This webinar will showcase how leading organizations are leveraging AI-native clinical services to achieve the objectives of the CMS Rural Health Transformation initiative.

Through real-world examples from rural Tennessee and other states, attendees will see how these strategies are improving care access and outcomes for high-risk populations, including Medicare and Medicaid dual-eligible patients, while helping clinical teams operate more efficiently without additional headcount.

Learn what’s working and how your organization can apply the same blueprint for sustainable rural transformation.

Key discussion points include:

• How AI-native clinical services support workforce-neutral care transformation,
• Liessons from Ballad health’s approach to high-risk patient populations, and
• What health systems should prioritize when scaling digital clinical services.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, June 18, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

Webinar: Stabilizing High-Need Units and Facilities Through Targeted Workforce Strategies, June 18

Staffing challenges in healthcare are not evenly distributed, and the systems that recognize that are gaining ground.

In many organizations, a small number of units, departments or facilities drive a disproportionate share of vacancies, turnover and premium labor spend. Systemwide recru8iting approaches were not designed for this reality. Without a targeted strategy, open roles linger, leaders stay in reactive mode and the downstream effects – on patient access, throughput and martin – compound quickly.

This session explores how cross-functional workforce strategies can help organizations stabilize high-need areas faster and more sustainably.

You will learn:

• How to identify where staffing challenges are most concentrated and where to prioritize resources,
• How targeted recruitment can shorten time-to-fill and reduce reliance on premium labor,
• How stabilizing critical roles supports patient access, throughput and revenue generation, and
• How workforce stabilization strengthens financial resilience and long-term sustainability.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, June 18, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

MRHA Webinar: Nurse Call and Wander Management Systems for Rural Healthcare, July 16

Join ECC and TekTone for an in-depth look at modern nurse call and wander management solutions designed to meet the unique needs of rural healthcare facilities. This session will showcase the latest Tek-CARE technologies, including Tek-CARE400 GEN3 nurse call, Tek-CARE700 Wander Management, and the expanding Tek-CARE ecosystem of workflow and alerting tools.

Participants will learn how fully integrated wireless pendants, wired audio-visual nurse call systems, resident wander management, and alert integration can operate simultaneously on a single platform. The presentation will highlight how these solutions help rural facilities improve staff efficiency, enhance resident satisfaction, and modernize infrastructure in a cost-effective and scalable way.

Designed for a wide range of care environments-from small care homes to large hospitals – TekTone nurse call systems are UL® listed and customizable to meet regulatory and operational requirements across multiple settings.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, July 16, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

MRHA Webinar: Digital Lifelines: Smarter Telemedicine and AI Use, July 9

Join the Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) for an engaging session exploring how telemedicine and artificial intelligence are reshaping healthcare delivery in rural communities. As Missouri expands access to telehealth services through recent legislation and healthcare organizations increasingly adopt AI-powered tools, providers face new opportunities alongside evolving legal, operational, and compliance considerations.

This webinar will examine common sources of malpractice and employer liability in telehealth, best practices for provider communication and care handoffs, and emerging legal risks tied to AI use in healthcare. Through real-world case examples and practical guidance, participants will gain strategies to help reduce risk, strengthen documentation practices, and responsibly integrate new technologies into patient care.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, July 9, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

MRHA Webinar: The Rural Health Clinic Advantage: Leveraging the RHC Designation for Financial Success, June 25

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) play a vital role in expanding access to care in underserved areas – and they offer significant reimbursement advantages. However, many providers are not fully leveraging the opportunities that RHC status can provide. This session will focus on the financial benefits of becoming an RHC, how to determine if the designation is the right fit for your organization and how to optimize these opportunities.

Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the key reimbursement mechanisms tied to RHC status, including cost report strategies, billing and coding requirements and how to avoid common pitfalls that lead to lost revenue. Through real-life examples from RHCs across the country, we’ll highlight how clinics have improved reimbursement, enhanced sustainability, and brought more value to their communities by leveraging their RHC designation more effectively. Whether you’re exploring the potential of becoming an RHC or looking to strengthen the financial performance of an existing clinic, this session offers practical insight you can act on.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, June 25, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

MRHA Webinar: Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership, June 4

June marks the completion of the second year of the Missouri Rural Food Access Partnership (MRFAP) grant, and this session will provide a comprehensive update on the progress made toward strengthening healthy food access across rural Missouri.

Participants will learn about advancements toward creating a statewide healthy food financing initiative and hear highlights from key projects and partner contributions.

This webinar will also introduce the first draft of the Missouri Good Food Charter – developed by MRFAP members to outline the most urgent food system priorities necessary to ensure all Missourians can access nutritious, affordable food.

Attendees will have the opportunity to explore ways to get involved and help shape the future of rural food access efforts.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, June 4, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

MRHA Virtual Learning Session: Local Health Department Capacity, Public Health Priorities, and Community Health Workers: Two Studies on LHD Capacity and the Potential of Community Health Workers, May 28

*Please note that the topic for this webinar has been updated. The previously scheduled presentation, “A Systems Approach to Preparing the Health Workforce for Social Determinants of Health,” has been replaced with this session.

This webinar uses national data from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) National Profile of Health Departments survey to explore organizational capacity in local health departments (LHDs) and how it relates to foundational public health services (FPHS) capabilities and health screenings in LHDs. There is substantial variation between LHDs in different contexts in terms of their organizational capacity, and capacity can impact what LHDs can accomplish.

Two studies will be discussed. First, you will examine differences in LHDs’ FPHS activities between expenditure levels, full time equivalent positions, and local population size. Second, you will examine health screening activities among LHDs who employ a community health worker (CHW), a physician, both, or neither. Capacity matters a great deal for what LHDs can do, but LHDs may be able to act strategically to increase capacity and thus their activities.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, May 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

May 27, 2026

On-Demand Webinar: The Hidden Barrier to AI: Why Legacy Systems and App Sprawl are Slowing Healthcare Innovation

Healthcare organizations are investing heavily in AI and digital innovation – yet many are discovering that legacy systems, redundant applications and fragmented infrastructure are slowing progress. Before scaling AI or advanced analytics, many healthcare IT, digital and compliance leaders are realizing they must address decades of accumulated technical debt.

This session will explore how healthcare IT leaders are approaching application rationalization and legacy modernization as strategic enablers of AI, cloud transformation and operational efficiency. Speakers will share practical approaches for evaluating legacy systems, reducing application sprawl and aligning platforms to support the next generation of healthcare technologies.

Key learning points:

• Why legacy systems and application sprawl are emerging as major barriers to AI and digital transformation,
• Practical frameworks for evaluating and rationalizing healthcare application portfolios,
• How leading health systems are balancing modernization with operational stability,
• Strategies for aligning infrastructure, security and governance when retiring legacy systems, and
• Where CIOs should start when building a modern digital foundation for AI

Click Here to Download this On-Demand Webinar