Category Archive

This week’s guest is Don Kelso, the Executive Director of the Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA).  Don has been with IRHA since 2008.  Previously, he served as Vice President of Operations at Daviess Community Hospital in Washington, Indiana from 2008-1998, and from 1994-1998, he served as Vice President of Human Resources.  Don was also Director of Human Resources at Jasper Memorial Hospital in Jasper, IN, from … Read More

Lara Brooks serves as a Rural Health Analyst with the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health, and Dr. Brian Whitacre is a Professor and Extension Economist in Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University. Lara and Brian have been working together since 2008 on increasing community and hospital engagement in rural areas. They focus on things like funding and grants, quality of … Read More

Brian Bauer is an attorney for Hall, Render, Killian, Heath and Lyman, PLLC, and works extensively in rural health. He has been an attorney practicing in the rural health field for around 25 years. He has served as general counsel to a number of hospitals, advising them on a wide range of legal, business and ethical issues. He also has … Read More

Michelle Mills serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Colorado Rural Health Center, which is the State Office of Rural Health and Rural Health Association in Colorado. Colorado is a state that expanded Medicaid and has not had any rural hospital closures. Michelle has a passion for quality improvement and collaboration, and won the Patient Safety Leadership Award in … Read More

Tim Size has been the Executive Director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative since helping found the organization in 1979. The Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative is owned and operated by forty rural acute, medical-surgical hospitals with the twin mission of shared services and advocacy. The organization focuses on building a collaborative network among freestanding hospitals and system affiliated rural hospitals, … Read More

Andy Fosmire serves as the Vice President for Rural Health for the Oklahoma Hospital Association. He has worked through cuts in the state of Oklahoma, as it was not an extension state with the Affordable Care Act, and discusses difficulties that they’ve had as a result. “I look at leadership as being a person that is skilled at getting a … Read More

This week’s episode of Rural Health Leadership Radio is a special episode celebrating the program’s one-year anniversary. In this special episode, guest host Elise Auxier interviews the creator and regular host of Rural Health Leadership Radio, Dr. Bill Auxier. Bill shares his definition of leadership, how Rural Health Leadership Radio began, and lessons he has learned as a leader. Coming … Read More

Bill Finerfrock is one of the co-founders of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC), and currently serves as the Executive Director. He also serves as the President of Capital Associates, a bipartisan government relations firm that specializes in health policy. The NARHC has helped healthcare providers navigate Medicare and billing, among many other things, allowing them to help more people. They … Read More

The 2017 Minnesota Rural Health Conference, Shaping Sustainable Solutions, was held June 19 and 20, at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center in Duluth, MN.  The annual event was hosted by the National Rural Health Resource Center, the Minnesota Rural Health Association and the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.  The conference objectives was to … Read More

Raz Cook serves as administrator for two hospitals: East Texas Medical Center Trinity and East Texas Medical Center Jacksonville. Raz has been a registered nurse for 35 years, and a hospital administrator for 18. “I think that leadership is artfully influencing people to do work for a common purpose. I think it has both quantitative and qualitative aspects to it. … Read More