Rural Spotlight

February 18, 2026

MRHA Webinar: Needs Assessment and Statewide Data, February 19

Join Libby Trammell, LCSW, for an engaging and accessible walkthrough of the most recent statewide Rural Health Needs Assessment. This session will highlight key data trends impacting rural Missouri, from workforce shortages and access-to-care challenges to emerging demographic shifts shaping community health.

Participants will learn to identify the leading causes of death in rural communities and explore how these patterns reflect broader health disparities. The webinar will also break down the concept of Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL), explaining what it measures, why it matters, and how it can guide planning, funding priorities, and local advocacy.

Who Should Attend:

• Healthcare researchers,
• Advocates,
• Workers seeking to strengthen their understanding of rural health data for planning, communication, and improvement efforts.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, February 19, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

February 18, 2026

Webinar: How SSM Health is Building Workforce Resilience Through Education, February 23

As clinical and operational complexity grows, health system leaders are rethinking how education can strengthen their workforce for current and future demands.

At SSM Health, education has become a systemwide lever for workforce stability, not a standalone perk.

In this webinar, leaders from SSM Health will outline how they are using education as a long-term workforce strategy. Through upfront tuition support, hybrid clinical training models and structured leadership development, the system is strengthening retention, expanding career mobility and preparing future-ready leaders.

This candid discussion moves beyond theory to explore what it takes to operationalize education at scale and align it with workforce, clinical and organizational goals.

What you will learn:

• How education programs can address workforce instability at the system level,
• Practical approaches to improving retention through career mobility,
• How clinical education models are evolving to meet workforce demand, and
• Executive considerations for sustaining workforce investments over time.

Cost: Free

When: Monday, February 23, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

February 17, 2026

Webinar: Faster, Smarter, Safer: How Health Systems Thrive in an Era of Constant Disruption, March 26

Health systems no longer experience episodic disruption. Today, disruption is continuous, overlapping and accelerating faster than traditional leadership models were designed to handle.

Labor pressure, reimbursement uncertainty, AI acceleration, partnership complexity and changing consumer expectations are colliding at once. This executive conversation examines how health system leaders are operating at the edge of constant disruption without increasing risk. Rather than debating tools or frameworks, the discussion centers on real decision-making inside complex operating environments.

During this session, senior health system leaders will share how they are rethinking governance, prioritization and leadership behaviors to move faster while protecting clinical, financial and operational stability.

Attendees will learn:

• Where leadership teams unintentionally slow decision-making and how to remove friction without compromising oversight,
• Which decisions are commonly over-governed and how to reset decision rights,
• How executives cut through vendor noise to identify true strategic priorities, and
• What leadership capabilities will matter most over the next three to five years.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, March 26, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

February 17, 2026

Webinar: Beyond Survival: How Rural Hospitals Can Build Future-Ready IT, March 25

Modernizing IT in rural Healthcare isn’t easy. Tight budgets, difficulty attracting and retaining skilled talent, and escalating cyber risks make it hard for rural hospitals to move beyond day-to-day survival.

This webinar examines how rural hospitals can modernize IT without breaking the bank. The focus is on how strategic partnerships and flexible leadership models can help organizations stabilize core systems, address risk and plan more effectively for the future.

Through real-world examples, attendees will learn how access to experienced IT leadership, enterprise-level capabilities and guidance on funding opportunities can support more sustainable decision-making. The session highlights practical approaches that help rural hospitals move from reactive IT management to more structured, future-ready planning.

Learning Points:

• Why a long-term strategic IT partner is essential for rural hospitals,
• How full-time or fractional IT leadership supports expertise and continuity,
• Turning funding opportunities into actionable IT upgrades, and
• Real-world success stories in modernization and cyber resilience.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

February 17, 2026

Webinar: Why Biomedical Tech Strategy Now Impacts Margins and Growth, February 24

Aging biomedical infrastructure and fragmented data are no longer just operational headaches – they are margin risks. When healthcare technology management (HTM) operates in silos, technology becomes a liability instead of a strategic asset.

This leadership discussion explores how health systems can modernize HTM programs and better align biomedical teams, IT and enterprise systems. Through real-world examples, the session examines how thoughtful, safe use of AI can improve operational visibility, support device management and strengthen financial performance.

Rather than replacing systems, the focus is on making better use of existing HER, enterprise resource planning, HTM and information systems to support operational continuity and future growth.

Insights include:

• Practical strategies to address long-standing biomedical challenges,
• How stronger system integration creates enterprise value, and
• Where AI can be applied confidently to impact operations.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 24, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

February 17, 2026

MHA Webinar: PFAC Office Hours: HCAHPS Questions – Care from Nurses and Doctors, March 26

This virtual event is designed to empower health care professionals with practical strategies to elevate patient experience and improve HCAHPS performance. The conversation is guided by patient experience leaders across the state and will focus specifically on the HCAHPS domains, “Your Care from Nurses” and “Your Care from Doctors.”

Through real-world examples and evidence-based techniques, speakers will address the moments that matter most to patients. Topics include how nurses and physicians communicate, collaborate and build trust at the bedside. Attendees will gain actionable tools to strengthen consistency in care delivery, leading to improved patient perceptions and stronger HCAHPS results.

This event is designed to provide insights you can implement immediately to enhance teamwork, elevate patient-centered care, and positively impact both patient satisfaction and organizational outcomes. Because this is office hours call format, during the last half of the call, members of MHA’s statewide PFAC will field questions, share stories and have conversations with the audience.

Cost: Complimentary to all attendees

When: Thursday, March 26, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register