Rural Spotlight

Webinar: Sustaining Rural Labor & Delivery Programs, May 4

April 16, 2026

Webinar: Sustaining Rural Labor & Delivery Programs, May 4

Rural hospitals face ongoing financial and operational pressures that have contributed to the closure of many Labor & Delivery programs nationwide. This webinar, hosted by the Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) and presented by Stroudwater, will highlight practical strategies to help rural hospitals assess and strengthen the financial sustainability of these services.

Highlighting key insights from the Sustaining Rural Labor & Delivery Programs brief, this session will cover approaches to improving how costs are tracked and reported, understanding the financial performance of Labor and Delivery services, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and partnerships. Attendees will gain actionable insights to support informed decision-making and help maintain access to essential maternity care in rural communities.

Cost: Free

When: Monday, May 4, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET

Click Here to see Sustaining Rural Labor & Delivery programs brief

Click Here to Register

Whitepaper: Strategic Workforce Modernization at Bon Secours Mercy Health

April 16, 2026

Whitepaper: Strategic Workforce Modernization at Bon Secours Mercy Health

Imagine a staffing environment where open-shift incentives are no longer managed through spreadsheets, schedules are better aligned to patient demand and leaders have clearer visibility into workforce needs across the enterprise.

This whitepaper shows how Bon Secours Mercy Health is working toward that model with its workforce management system. Rather than making incremental changes to legacy scheduling practices, the organization modernized its approach with automated incentive pricing, structured PRN participation and forecasting tools designed to support more evidence-based staffing decisions.

The result is a workforce strategy built to improve transparency, strengthen schedule stability and help leaders use internal staff more effectively before turning to higher-cost labor options.

Learnings include:

  • How dynamic incentive pricing helped target the shifts with the greatest need,
  • How the PRN Tiers program increased pre-scheduled hours by 25% during a holiday period,
  • How forecasting tools supported more precise staffing baselines, and
  • How workforce modernization can support employee experience and financial stewardship.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: The Future of Payer-Provider Collaboration: Balancing Reimbursement Pressures & Value-Based Progress

April 16, 2026

Whitepaper: The Future of Payer-Provider Collaboration: Balancing Reimbursement Pressures & Value-Based Progress

Health system technology leaders are being pulled into the center of payer-provider conflict. Rising denials, growing administrative workloads and tighter reimbursement timelines are forcing organizations to rethink how data, infrastructure and platforms support collaboration.

This report promises a clearer view of what is actually driving friction between payers and providers today and what leaders believe could ease it. Rather than positioning collaboration as a catch-all solution, it examines where alignment breaks down and what realistic improvements look like from the provider perspective. The analysis draws from a closed-door session at Becker’s 13th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable and features candid input from health system leaders across the country.

Learnings include:

  • How reimbursement pressure is reshaping provider technology priorities,
  • Why current payer-provider processes create operational drag,
  • What leaders see as realistic paths to better collaboration, and
  • How regulatory changes could elevate the role of shared platforms.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: How Henry Ford is Turning Diagnostics into a Strategic Advantage

April 16, 2026

Whitepaper: How Henry Ford is Turning Diagnostics into a Strategic Advantage

For many health system leaders, diagnostics still sit outside the strategic conversation, viewed mainly as a clinical necessity and a cost center.

This report makes the case for a different approach. It shows how Henry Ford Health began treating diagnostics as a source of actionable information that can support better decisions, stronger clinical stewardship and greater economic value. Rather than focusing only on the cost per test, leaders explored how faster, better information could improve admission decisions, medication use and overall performance.

The result was a more integrated, end-to-end strategy. Henry Ford Health established diagnostic testing capabilities at almost 20 locations to support faster influenza testing and more timely decision-making. The system also reduced unnecessary blood cultures by more than 20% and saw a 35% reduction in CLABSI rates through stronger stewardship and collaboration across infection prevention, emergency medicine and the lab.

Download the White Paper to Learn:

  • Why cost per test can miss the broader value of diagnostics,
  • How Henry Ford Health used faster information to support better decisions,
  • What diagnostic stewardship looked like in practice across the system, and
  • How lab strategy can support both clinical and financial priorities.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Webinar: Smarter Spend, Safer Care: Real-world RTLS Strategies for Asset Management, Staff Safety and Compliance, May 6

April 16, 2026

Webinar: Smarter Spend, Safer Care: Real-world RTLS Strategies for Asset Management, Staff Safety and Compliance, May 6

Hospital executives face mounting pressure to reduce costs while protecting patients, staff and operations across the enterprise.

In this webinar, hospital leaders will learn how health systems are using Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) to address some of healthcare’s most persistent challenges, from excess equipment spend and rental costs to staff risks and compliance gaps.

It will create clarity on which metrics matter most, how to evaluate performance gains and how RTLS data can support smarter capital, clinical and operational strategies.

Key takeaways include:

  • How RTLS reduces capital and rental costs through improved asset utilization,
  • Ways that staff protection and infant security technologies mitigate risk and liability,
  • How environmental monitoring supports compliance and patient safety.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, May 6, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: How a California Hospital Cleared its Surgical Backlog in 3 Months, May 14

April 16, 2026

Webinar: How a California Hospital Cleared its Surgical Backlog in 3 Months, May 14

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, a 427-bed community medical center, faced a daunting surgical backlog – and then eliminated it entirely in just 90 days.

In this session, perioperative leaders from PVHMC share how their team used data-driven strategies and technology to overcome fragmented scheduling, manual workflows and communication barriers across multiple facilities.

Attendees will learn how the hospital increased case volumes, improved resource utilization and achieved financial ROI within six months while aligning 83 schedulers across sites.

Hear how PVHMC:

  • Transformed paper-based scheduling into streamlined, cross-department workflows across the main OR, outpatient pavilion and GI clinics,
  • Used proactive block management to release 142 blocks (46,000 minutes) and fill 47% with additional cases,
  • Achieved ROI within six months through FTE savings and increased post-implementation case volumes, and
  • Achieved 100% scheduler adoption and aligned 83 clinic schedulers into one cohesive team.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, May 14, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Funding Opportunity: Make America Healthy Again – Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based approaches Through Evidence (“MAHA ELEVATE”), CWS-2W2-27-001, Apply by May 15

April 15, 2026

Funding Opportunity: Make America Healthy Again – Enhancing Lifestyle and Evaluating Value-based approaches Through Evidence (“MAHA ELEVATE”), CWS-2W2-27-001, Apply by May 15

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI or Innovation Center), is soliciting applications for the Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle & Evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence (MAHA ELEVATE) Model. This voluntary, three-year service delivery model is designed to test evidence-based, whole person functional or lifestyle medicine (“whole-person FLM”) approaches to care. Rather than treating diseases separately after they develop, MAHA ELEVATE takes a proactive, comprehensive approach that combines psychological, nutritional, and physical interventions with personalized, lifestyle-based strategies for prevention and early treatment.

Eligible Applicants:

  • Unrestricted

Additional Information on Eligibility:

Eligible applicants include any organization that meets the requirements outlined in the NOFO. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Examples of eligible applicants may include but atr not limited to:

  • Private medical practices,
  • Health systems and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs),
  • Academic organizations,
  • Functional, lifestyle, preventive, and integrative medicine centers,
  • Community-based organizations (CBOs),
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
  • Rural Health Clinics (RHCs),
  • Indian Health Service/Tribal Services/Urban Indian Programs (ITUs)
  • Local and state governments
  • Organizations spanning multiple states are eligible to apply.

CMS will select a total of up to 30 recipients to participate in MAHA ELEVATE. The model will be split into two cohorts, one year apart (years 2026 and 2027).

CMS will select recipients based on five key criteria:

  • Whole-person FLM intervention design, including cost savings,
  • Beneficiary recruitment and study design,
  • Organizational and administrative capacity,
  • Data management capabilities, and
  • Budget.

Highly competitive applicants must demonstrate several important strengths:

  • Strong evidence-based support for your proposed interventions(s) and proof of your own successful history of implementation of the intervention and cost savings.
  • Ability to recruit large numbers of participants with a clear randomization plan and advanced data management capabilities.

Given the model’s minimum beneficiary targets and extensive data management requirements, applicants who do not directly provide clinical care are strongly encouraged to form partnerships with care entities or organizations that deliver clinical care. This collaboration helps ensure you can meet the full operational requirements of the program.

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

 

Survey – Your Input is Needed – Building Stronger Muscles for Rural Policy & Systems Change, Survey Deadline April 17

April 15, 2026

Survey – Your Input is Needed – Building Stronger Muscles for Rural Policy & Systems Change, Survey Deadline April 17

Strong Foundations for Rural Advancement is a project focused on strengthening the systems, organizations, and networks needed to advance meaningful change for rural communities. The project is mapping the rural systems-change ecosystem to better understand how to support policy, advocacy, networks, and narrative change that lead to improved outcomes for rural kids and families.

Input is being requested from rural-smart practitioners, policy experts, decision makers, funders, and leaders across the country. Please take a few minutes to share your experience, insights, and ideas to help ensure this work reflects diverse rural perspectives.

Please respond by April 17.

Click Here to Take the Survey

Webinar: Escaping Pilot Purgatory: A Framework for Scaling Agentic AI in Healthcare Organizations, April 30

April 2, 2026

Webinar: Escaping Pilot Purgatory: A Framework for Scaling Agentic AI in Healthcare Organizations, April 30

Agentic AI is a board-level priority for most healthcare organizations, but whether you are still identifying where to start or trying to move a stalled pilot forward, the path to measurable results looks the same.

This session introduces a practical three-part framework for moving from concept to enterprise-wide deployment: a strategic blueprint to identify and prioritize the right workflows, an enterprise architecture that builds on technologies you already have, and a continuous optimization loop to protect and grow the investment.

Using real healthcare workflows including claims processing, prior authorization, and fax management, you will see how organizations redesign their operations and the roles within them, rather than simply digitize them.

You will leave with:

  • What differentiates agentic AI from traditional and generative AI in healthcare operations,
  • How to identify the right workflows for agentic AI and what it takes to move a pilot into full deployment, and
  • How leading health systems are redesigning roles with agentic AI, not just processes.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, April 30, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

MHA Health Institute: 2026 CMS Hospitals CoPs Updates, April 22-23

April 2, 2026

MHA Health Institute: 2026 CMS Hospitals CoPs Updates, April 22-23

Regulations are evolving – are you prepared? This two-day event brings together the latest regulatory updates, real-world challenges Missouri hospitals are facing and actionable guidance you can apply immediately.

Designed for both hospital and critical access hospital leaders, this program equips you with the clarity and insight needed to strengthen compliance, reduce risk and support organizational excellence in an increasingly complex environment.

NEW for 2026: Choose the attendance experience that works best for you – join in-person to maximize networking with colleagues from across the state or opt to receive recordings of the live content after the event concludes.

Cost:

  • $495 MHA Members
  • $595 Non-members

When: Wednesday, April 22 – Thursday, April 23, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Click Here to Learn More and Register