Rural Health Leadership Radio™

Learn about how Jessica and Sarah are making a difference in rural healthcare.  Humla Health focuses on reimagining nurse staffing for a sustainable and healthy future, utilizing their tech platform to streamline staffing and scheduling, connecting healthcare facilities with credentialed W-2 nurses.  Stratis Health uses leading-edge methodologies to deliver data-driven insights and evidence-informed and culturally relevant interventions that inspire and enable organizations and communities to achieve solutions to their most complex and diverse health improvement challenges.

Guests: Janice Walters, Candice Talkington, and Steven Davis from the Rural Health Redesign Center (RHRC) Learn about how the RHRC is working to help rural communities across the nation THRIVE through healthcare reform and community-based strategies to maintain and improve access to care. Join us live to hear their stories, ask questions, and learn.

This week on Rural Health Leadership Radio, we announce our final episode after eight fantastic years on the air! We have a one last conversation honoring RHLR by sharing reflections, insights, and stories about the podcast’s origins and journey. We share the most listened-to episodes from the past eight years, the growth that RHLR has seen, and celebrate all the amazing guests and support we have received along the way. As always, we talk about the future of rural healthcare, the importance of resilience, and the power of using one’s voice to make a difference. “Use your voice. Don't be afraid to speak up. I don't care what your role is, what your title is, what your self-confidence is. Use your voice and speak up, and you, too can make a difference.” – Dr. Bill Auxier Bill is the President & CEO of the Center for Rural Health Leadership, responsible for NRHA’s Rural Hospital Certification programs for CEOs, CNOs, CFOs, CMOs, HR Directors, Board Trustees, and a program for rural health nurses. Bill is also the founder of Rural Health Leadership Radio, a 501(c)3 non-profit and podcast. Bill assists rural health leaders develop and understand their personal definition of leadership for greater personal and organizational success by utilizing what he has learned about leadership in the real world combined with what he has learned about leadership in the academic world. Bill’s mission is to improve rural America by engaging rural health leaders in conversations for greater learning, greater effectiveness, greater health equity, and greater well-being in rural communities. Sydney Grant is the Director of Programming/Operations for the Center for Rural Health Leadership, responsible for NRHA’s Rural Hospital Certification Programs. She is also the Chief Operations Officer for AUXIER Group, which offers coaching, cultural transformation, and other rural health professional development opportunities.  Sydney received her Bachelor of Science from Florida State University and her Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of South Florida. Sydney started her journey in rural healthcare as an intern for Dr. Auxier’s Rural Health Leadership Radio podcast in 2019 and became co-host in 2022. Sydney’s goal is to help provide the tools, networks, and resources to rural health leaders across the country to help develop strong leadership and bridge the isolation gap of rural healthcare.

This week on Rural Health Leadership Radio, we are wrapping up our series on NRHA’s 2023 Fellows Program Policy Papers with Fellows Michelle Fortune and Abby Radcliffe. Michelle and Abby explored one of the hottest topics in healthcare, particularly impactful in rural – healthcare workforce shortages. The Fellows share short and long-term strategies in handling workforce shortages, as well as pragmatic and policy-based recommendations. “Everybody in every community can take some action in some way, and it doesn't have to be looking for that gigantic next step. The big is in the little, so do something.” – Michelle Fortune Michelle Fortune, MBA, BSN, FACHE is the President of Surgery and GI Service Line for Mercy Health in St Louis, MO. Prior to joining Mercy, Michelle led the Perioperative and Anesthesia Service Lines for Atrium Health and then served as a CEO for a Critical Access Hospital managed by the system which needed an operational turnaround. Michelle is a Certified Ambulatory PeriAnesthesia Nurse and a National Rural Health Fellow. She is currently participating in the NRHA Rural CEO Certification Program. Michelle has a passion for assuring the availability of high quality healthcare in rural communities. Her work in Rural Healthcare has brought her numerous honors, including being named the 2023 Rural Community Champion of the year by the North Carolina Rural Health Association for her work in advancing Cardiac Care in Rural North Carolina. Abby Radcliffe currently serves as the Senior Director of the Small and Rural Hospital Constituency Section at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA). She has worked with rural hospitals at IHA for over 17 years and has worked on several grant initiatives. In 2023, she served as a National Rural Health Association fellow and was also awarded the Rural Health Hero Award from the National Center for Rural Health Professions.  Abby graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a major in Speech Communication and a double minor in Business Administration and Public Relations. In 2005 she graduated from Miami University with an MA in Speech Communication. Abby has also worked in state government and development.

On this week’s episode of Rural Health Leadership Radio, we talk to a physician who came out of retirement to rekindle his passion for rural healthcare at a critical access hospital in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Dr. David Alcindor shares his incredible journey, from his childhood in France to his volunteer work in rural nations across the world, as well as the U.S. as a traveling ED physician. David is Chief of Staff at South Lincoln Hospital District and practices in Emergency Medicine and Med-Surg. “It’s a small system, you could to the CEO, CFO, COO, CNO in the same hallway – or you could visit them in their homes…everything is approachable, everything is scalable.” – Dr. David Alcindor David grew up in Paris, France, and moved to the U.S. to start studies focused on helping disadvantaged persons, first by obtaining a degree in architecture and pursing research in housing for the poor. Construction research in a developing Caribbean nation led David to cross paths with rural medical volunteers. In joining them, he discovered that medicine had far greater impact in addressing not just poor living standards but impacting the health of each individual. After completing medical school, David volunteered in the US Air Force as a medical officer, served on the war front and returned to civilian life to focus exclusively on the health of land laborers (miners, farmers and ranchers) in remote, rural America. After nearly 20 years of being a traveling rural ED physician across the U.S., David and his wife decided to settle in Kemmerer, Wyoming. David first traveled to work in Kemmerer at SLHD emergency department in February 2022. He has since joined the hospital's executive leadership team on a full-time basis with a plan to gradually assume various departmental directorships.