Exploring Rural Health

Exploring Rural Health

Exploring Rural Health is a podcast from the Rural Health Information Hub. In each episode, we’ll provide you with engaging and useful information about current issues facing rural healthcare, and talk to the people who are coming up with solutions. We’ll learn about various aspects of rural healthcare, from quality and access to programs and services. Join us each month, as we discuss new research, program implementation, and funding, here on Exploring Rural Health!

Episodes

October 6, 2026 • 29 mins

Today’s podcast features an interview with Xiomara Owens, PhD, Director of Behavioral Health Aide Training at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and Tonya Horn, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation in the Behavioral Health Program at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. They explain the flexibility of Alaska’s Behavioral Health Aide program and how it can be adapted to serve communities i...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Alycia Bayne, Associate Director for Public Health Research at the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. She shares highlights from a resource she recently helped to develop, Practical Guide to Supporting Innovation in Rural Health, published on RHIhub’s website.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://ww...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Kelsea O’Leary, Behavioral Health Program Manager for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She tells us about how the Recovery Is Possible program’s physicians and social workers team up to ensure continuity of care for tribal citizens, during and after incarceration. Part 3 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Amanda Kennedy, manager of the Mercy Virtual Substance Use Recovery Program. She tells us about Mercy’s award-winning RCORP-funded virtual outreach program and the obstacles they have overcome to provide seamless care to patients with substance use disorder. Part 2 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank finalists,...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Lincoln County Ambulance District Chief Ray Antonacci and Battalion Chief Sarah Czarnecki. They tell us about an award-winning RCORP-funded initiative allowing them to administer buprenorphine to incarcerated individuals experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms. Part 1 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank finalists, wi...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Casey Balio, PhD, research assistant professor at the East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and Research, and Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. They share new insights about the rural public health workforce from their recent article published in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice.

T...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Kathy Griffis, Chief Operating Officer of Titus Regional Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, TX. We learn about how they have developed routines and protocols to reduce violence and ensure safe healthcare environments for their staff and patients.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/w...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Chris Laman, Vice President of Strategy at Columbia Memorial Hospital. We learn about the importance of developing and maintaining the rural allied health workforce.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/allied-health-mar-2026

Exploring Rural Health is an RHIhub podcast.

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Joe Theine and Jen Gero, MD. We learn about community-based recruiting and how it benefits providers and patients alike.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/recruiting-feb-2026

Exploring Rural Health is an RHIhub podcast.

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Dwain Harris, Chief Executive Officer of the National AHEC Organization, along with Brianna Sheppard, PhD, Director of West Virginia Area Health Education Centers, and Meredith Lair, Executive Director of the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center. We learn about Area Health Education Centers and how they help to ensure consistent healthcare professional workforce availability...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Dr. Kevin Biese, Chair of the Board of the American College of Emergency Physicians Geriatric Emergency Accreditation program, and Dr. Natalie Elder, Director of Geriatric Emergency Medicine for the Vermont Health Network. We learn about the Geriatric Emergency Department Certification program, and how it provides a roadmap for organizing and care for rural geriatric patients.

The tr...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Dan Shane, PhD, Associate Professor with the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, about opportunities for applying technological advances in rural health and human services, potential challenges, and future avenues of development.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/tech-i...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, co-director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, about the prevalence of and difficulties caused by medical debt for both rural patients and providers.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/medical-debt-jan-2025

Exploring Rural Health...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Stephanie Larson, PhD, an Associate with the Institute of Ethics at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, and Devora Shapiro, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Ethics at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, about creating ethically informed frameworks in rural healthcare in order to best serve rural patients.

The transcript and a list of reso...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Kristen Dillon, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the Federal Office for Rural Health Policy. In this special National Rural Health Day episode, we get an overview of the current state of rural maternal health, including access barriers and disparities in health outcomes, as well as exploring the ways that the Health Resources and Services Administration is working to improve outcomes for...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Matt Coleman, Director of the Kentucky State Office of Rural Health, as well as James VanCleave, Rural Project Manager, Veterans Services for the KORH. We learn about the importance of providing support to rural veterans in need of health services.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcas...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Krista Postai, CEO of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, and Jason Wesco, President and Chief Strategy Officer of CHC/SEK. We learn about the community health center’s journey from a single facility operating out of a trailer to having 18 locations across the region that leverage community partnerships to address health-related social needs.

The transcript and a list ...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Jordan Berg, Principal Investigator for the National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center. We discuss present and possible future applications for AI in healthcare, what AI is and isn’t good at, and how it can be especially beneficial for rural patients.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ru...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with John Supplitt, Senior Director of Rural Health Services for the American Hospital Association. We discuss rural health disruptors and rural availability of obstetrics and other essential services.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/essential-services-jul-2024

Exploring Rural Health...

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Today’s podcast features an interview with Amy Rosenfeld, Senior Research Director of the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, Jessica Dayton, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Safety Village, and Jane Strommen, PhD, a gerontology Specialist at North Dakota State University overseeing NDSU’s implementation of the Stepping On program. We discuss various types of unintentional injuries, several different progra...

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