Rural Spotlight

Whitepaper: How 75 Hospital Leaders are Rethinking the Patient Room

January 5, 2026

Whitepaper: How 75 Hospital Leaders are Rethinking the Patient Room

Patient rooms are being reimagined – not just in layout, but in how technology supports communication, safety and connection.

In a recent Becker’s Zoom, and HP survey of 75 hospital and health system leaders including C-suite executives, medical directors, and nursing and technology leaders, one theme stood out: outdated, fragmented tech is undermining care delivery and clinician satisfaction.

But some organizations are moving fast to fix it.

This report reveals what leaders are prioritizing (think: virtual nursing, discharge workflows supported by in-room video) and where critical infrastructure gaps remain.

Inside, you’ll learn:

  • Why just 1 in 3 rooms is fully equipped for modern communication and what’s driving change,
  • How Blessing Health System outfitted 150 room to support virtual visits, discharge planning and patient education, and
  • What investments are top of mind as health systems build the patient room of the future.

Click Here to Download the Whitepaper

On-Demand Webinar: From Claims Chaos to Clean: How Top Practices are Fixing RCM Friction

January 5, 2026

On-Demand Webinar: From Claims Chaos to Clean: How Top Practices are Fixing RCM Friction

Revenue cycle inefficiencies don’t always stem from tech itself. Often, RCM friction stems from how technology is used. Practices with strong EHRs still face persistent challenges: inconsistent revenue, slow payment cycles and rising burnout tied to manual workarounds.

This on-demand webinar explores how practices using ModMed have improved clean claims rates to 98% – and what other groups can learn from their playbook.

You’ll hear firsthand how to tighten up billing processes, reduce administrative load and strengthen financial outcomes without major system changes.

Key takeaways:

  • Strategies that helped practices boost claim accuracy and reduce denials,
  • Steps to shorten the reimbursement cycle and reduce days in A/R, and
  • Lessons on scaling efficiency without adding staff.

Click Here to Access this On-Demand Webinar

Webinar: From Daily Engagement to Year-Round Gains: Turning RPM and PERS Data into Quality Wins, January 15

January 5, 2026

Webinar: From Daily Engagement to Year-Round Gains: Turning RPM and PERS Data into Quality Wins, January 15

2025 brought a sharp decline in 4-star contracts and higher cut points across key HEDIS and CAHPS measures, shrinking bonus pools and raising pressure on health plan leaders.

Join health plan executives to explore how real-time data from Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) can drive measurable improvement in adherence, preventive screenings and member experience.

What you’ll learn:

  • Which measures shifted in 2025, and which are still within reach,
  • How RPM and PERS data fuel targeted interventions with measurable impact, and
  • Real-world tactics for turning daily engagement into year-round quality gains.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, January 15, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: How Physician Leaders are Reshaping Surgical Ops: Lessons from WakeMed, Lee Health + More, January 28

January 5, 2026

Webinar: How Physician Leaders are Reshaping Surgical Ops: Lessons from WakeMed, Lee Health + More, January 28

OR inefficiencies are a known drain on resources – but many hospitals still struggle to drive sustainable change.

In this live panel, physician executives from WakeMed, Lee Health and Cone Health share what it really takes to transform surgical services and achieve lasting operational gains.

They’ll discuss how their organizations are tackling entrenched issues in perioperative resource management – from underused block time to poor throughput and OR delays – and how they’re using technology, governance and change management strategies to improve coordination and capacity.

Insights Include:

  • How to optimize surgical operations through better resource allocation
  • The governance models enabling physician-led change and measurable OR performance improvement, and
  • Real world approaches to reducing delays, improving throughput and increasing block utilization.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, January 28, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: North Mississippi Health Services’ virtual Nursing Model Returns 600 Hours Each Month, January 28

January 5, 2026

Webinar: North Mississippi Health Services’ virtual Nursing Model Returns 600 Hours Each Month, January 28

At NMHS, virtual nursing is an enterprise-wide model serving a 400-bed flagship hospital and seven community hospitals. With virtual nurses completing 90% of discharges and 70% of admissions, NMHS has proven what’s possible when digital care is built for frontline support.

In this webinar, the NMHS team will share how they operationalize virtual nursing to ease workload, strengthen retention and improve safety and performance metrics across the system.

What you’ll learn:

  • How NMHS structured staffing, governance and workflows to drive adoption,
  • Where virtual nursing delivered the greatest impact on throughput and staff satisfaction, and
  • The KPIs and communication tactics used to demonstrate systemwide ROI

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, January 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

NIH/NIAAA Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol

January 2, 2026

NIH/NIAAA Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol

Alcohol contributes to more than 200 chronic and acute health conditions and about 178,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. Yet, alcohol-related risks often go unaddressed in healthcare settings. The Core Resource on Alcohol equips healthcare professionals to better recognize alcohol’s impact on patient health and respond with informed, effective care.

  • Explore 14 concise articles covering basic science, screening, brief intervention, co-occurring conditions, treatment options, and more.
  • Earn FREE EME or CE credit for as few or as many articles as you wish – available for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and pharmacists.
  • Overcome common barriers to care – including training gaps, time constraints, and stigma – to improve patient outcomes.

Explore the Core Resource: www.niaaa.nih.gov/CoreResource

New CMS Model: MAHA ELEVATE – Coming in Early 2026

January 2, 2026

New CMS Model: MAHA ELEVATE – Coming in Early 2026

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced a new payment model titled Make America Healthy Again: Enhancing Lifestyle and evaluating Value-based Approaches Through Evidence (MAHA ELEVATE). The model aims to support chronic disease initiatives for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries.

A total of $100 million dollars will fund up to 30 proposals for three years. The proposals will include evidence-based whole-person care approaches currently not covered by original Medicare.

CMMI will release a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in early 2026 for the first cohort, and the voluntary model will launch on September 1, 2o26.

Click Here to Learn More

Research Alert: Changes in Bed-Based Measures of Surge Capacity from 2018 to 2022 Among Rural and Urban Hospitals

January 2, 2026

Research Alert: Changes in Bed-Based Measures of Surge Capacity from 2018 to 2022 Among Rural and Urban Hospitals

Hospital surge capacity refers to the ability to handle sudden and possible dramatic increases in health care demand, such as the increase in demand experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, a natural disaster, or a mass casualty event. One method of assessing surge capacity is to examine a hospital’s typical number of unoccupied beds.

On an average day in 2022, the average rural hospital had 24 unoccupied acute care beds, accounting for approximately 66% of the hospital’s total acute care beds. Although these numbers have decreased slightly from 2018 (26 unoccupied beds accounting for approximately 67% of total beds), the findings suggest that surge capacity, as measured by unoccupied beds, has not dramatically changed in recent years.

Click Here to Read Full Report

Webinar: Outcomes: Strategic Data-Driven Interventions, February 12

January 2, 2026

Webinar: Outcomes: Strategic Data-Driven Interventions, February 12

Join subject matter experts from Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI) for an interactive 60-minute activity session on designing meaningful community health interventions. Through hands-on case studies and collaborative discussions, this session will explore the importance of data, connect their individual mission to broader healthcare goals, and develop practical strategies for robust data collection, impactful patient outreach, and transformative care delivery.

Target Audience:

  • Dental,
  • Nurses,
  • Nurse practitioners,
  • Pharmacists,
  • Physicians’ assistants,
  • Psychologists and counselors,
  • Registered dieticians,
  • Social workers, and
  • Other members of the team.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, February 12, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Improving Health Outcomes: Strategic Data-Driven Interventions, January 29

January 2, 2026

Webinar: Improving Health Outcomes: Strategic Data-Driven Interventions, January 29

Join subject matter experts from Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI) for an engaging 60-minute webinar on advancing community health through meaningful data collection and use. Participants will learn practical strategies for collecting data to design community health interventions that will improve health outcomes, as well as staff training approaches that enhance organizational understanding.

Target Audience:

  • Dental
  • Nurses
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Pharmacists
  • Physicians
  • Physicians’ assistants
  • Psychologists and counselors
  • Registered dieticians
  • Social workers
  • Other members of the team

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, January 29, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register