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Rural Health Leadership Radio™

Over the last ten years, over 100 rural hospitals have closed their doors. Roughly one in three rural hospitals have been identified as “at risk.” If there was ever a need for strong leadership, that time is now. RHLR’s mission is to provide a forum to have conversations with rural health leaders to discuss and share ideas about what is working, what is not working, lessons learned, success stories, strategies, things to avoid and anything else you want to talk and hear about. RHLR provides a voice for rural health. The only investment is your time, and our goal is to make sure you receive a huge return on your investment. For more information, visit www.rhlradio.com or e-mail bill@billauxier.com.
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Now displaying: September, 2022
Sep 27, 2022

You know the saying two is always better than one; How true is that when it comes to CEOs? Today we are talking with Jayd Keener and Mat Slaybaugh, Co-CEOs of Garfield County Hospital District. They will discuss how they acquired the Co-CEO role and what it takes to make Co-leadership successful.

“We're both here for the good of the facility, the good of the patients, the good of the Community, and the good of the staff.”

-Jayd Keener

"It's not about me, it's not about Jayd, it's about what's best for the organization and the patients.”

-Mat Slaybaugh

Jayd obtained her Associate's degree in Nursing from Walla Walla Community College in 2006 and has been blessed to have her talent for leadership be seen. She was hired in 2017 at Garfield County Hospital as the Director of Nursing and became the Co-CEO in the Spring of 2019. She is on the local Recovery Navigator Program and Southeast Washington Alliance for Healthcare board and participates in several county healthcare coalition meetings. Jayd is a wife and mom to four boys aged 8 to 21 who keep her on her toes. In her free time, she enjoys watching her boys play baseball and as a family, they enjoy prospecting for Gold, camping, and attending concerts together.

Mat has a BS in biology from Lewis-Clark State College and a Doctor of Physical Therapy from Idaho State University. He has been working at Garfield County hospital since 2017. Started initially as a staff therapist, then as director of rehabilitation, and now as Co-CEO since the Spring of 2019. He works with the local high school offering free PT evaluations to injured athletes, volunteering as a weight room supervisor, and working as the assistant wrestling coach. Mat enjoys most of all, spending time with his wife and children. With the little free time he has, he enjoys camping, hunting, and woodworking.

Sep 20, 2022

Once a farmer’s daughter now a fiercely passionate rural health advocate. This week, we are talking with Dr. SuLynn Mester, an advisory board member for the NRHA CNO certification program. SuLynn talks with us about her passion for rural healthcare and her interesting background in nursing. 

“I think we have an opportunity to make a change to reset the trajectory of how rural health is shaping up…”

-Dr. SuLynn Mester

SuLynn Mester has been in nursing since 1987, specializing in critical care, cardiovascular surgical care, and trauma care, prior to moving into management and administration. She is committed to education, not only for herself but for others. She is a lifelong learner, receiving her Associate Degree in Science from Clarendon College in 1984, Associate in Nursing from Amarillo College in 1987, Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2016, Master of Science in Nursing in 2018, and Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2020, all from the University of Texas at Arlington. She sits on the board of Clarendon College School of Nursing, as well as the Area for Health Education Center (AHEC). 

Succession leadership for rural healthcare is of utmost importance to her. Thus, she helped develop and is now serving as an Advisory Board Member on the NRHA Rural Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Certification Program. She is passionate about rural healthcare advocacy issues and is actively involved in efforts in Austin and Washington, DC to ensure and preserve rural healthcare access. She is heavily involved in rural health policy, serving on the Texas Nurses Association as the Governmental Advising Committee liaison, as well as serving as a Hospital and Community Health Systems Constituency Group Representative for NRHA Rural Health Congress. 

She is a recipient of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH), National Rural Health Association (NRHA), and Texas Hospital Association Leadership yearlong leadership fellowship programs. She is currently an active fellow in the Coldiron Senior Nurse Executive Fellowship. In her final year of doctoral studies, she was chosen for the John and Louise Shira Fellowship Scholarship. Her rural-focused work and research have been published in Nursing Management Magazine and have an upcoming publication in the Emergency Nursing Journal. 

She grew up a farm girl and currently resides in the remote rural area of Childress, Texas with her husband Randy. Her inner circle includes many four-legged family members; three of her favorites being Fred the Red Head, a Murray Gray steer and Ruby, a Texas Longhorn, and Harper, a Black Angus bottle baby.

Sep 13, 2022

Think about overseeing the same halls you once used as your personal Hot Wheels track. This week we are talking with Eric Swanson, the president and CEO of Adventist Health Tillamook. A true homegrown kid, Eric shares his experience managing the hospital he grew up in as a child.

 “What excites me is, is how we can be collaborative and creative to serve our unique community”

34:45-34:54

Eric Swanson is President of Adventist Health Tillamook. He has been with Adventist Health for 30 years and has served in a variety of leadership roles, both clinical and non-clinical. Eric holds an MBA with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare CareExecutives. He is also an Oregon licensed, and Nationally Registered Paramedic.

Sep 6, 2022

Rural healthcare is full of innovative solutions to the unique obstacles they face, including access to care. What happens when technology is introduced to bridge the access gap? This week we are talking with Dr. Jenny Schneider the CEO of Homeward Health about collaborating in the competitive world of rural healthcare to increase access to care.

“At the end of the day, we're caring for people, not patients”

-Jenny Schneider

Dr. Jennifer Schneider is the chief executive officer of Homeward, a company focused on improving access to high-quality, affordable comprehensive care in rural communities. Having grown up in the small town of Winona, Minnesota, and being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a young age, she experienced first-hand the lack of primary and specialty care that millions of families across rural America deal with every day. This fueled her passion to create a new approach to comprehensive, value-based care in rural America.

Previously, Dr. Schneider served as the chief medical officer and president of Livongo. While there, her team led the company through the largest consumer digital health Initial Public Offering in history and the industry’s largest merger ever between Livongo and Teladoc Health, valuing Livongo at $18.5billion and beginning a new era of consumer-centric virtual care. She also served as chief medical officer of Castlight Health

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