This week’s episode of Rural Health Leadership Radio is a special episode to honor all our country’s veterans in honor of Veteran’s Day. Most VA hospitals are in metropolitan areas, making it difficult for veterans living in rural America to receive care there. With around half of our veterans living in rural America, that is just one of the challenges they face, access to care. This week we’re talking about that and more with the CEO of Coal County General Hospital, Trent Bourland. Trent served in the United States Air Force for 10 years and knows first-hand the challenges all rural residents face with it comes to access to care, particularly the challenges veterans are dealing with.

“Be patient with veterans as much as you can. A lot of them are frustrated because they don’t understand how the system works.”

~Trent Bourland

Trent Bourland is the CEO of Coal County Healthcare Authority located in Coalgate, Ok., which operates a 20-bed critical access hospital, three rural health clinics, and a 75-bed long-term care facility. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and has a master’s degree in business from Southern Nazarene University.