When rural and critical access hospital leaders gather at this year’s Rural Health Care Symposium, which will be hosted by the California Hospital Association (CHA) on March 23-24 in Sacramento, the question top of mind for many will be: How do we best serve our patients and communities while we’re in survival mode with all of the existential pressures facing our hospitals?
Hospital leaders are increasingly asked to do more with less. The Medicaid cuts passed last year are just the latest threats to hospitals’ financial sustainability. Workforce shortages persist. Regulatory expectations grow. The match just keeps getting harder.
Throughout Hospital Council’s 50-county service area, the hospital is often the largest employer, a first responder in a time of crisis, and the backbone of community health. When a rural or critical access hospital struggles, it is not just a local issue; it disrupts referral patterns, increases pressure on urban emergency departments, strains post-acute capacity, and weakens the entire delivery system. The health of rural hospitals is not a niche concern — it is a statewide stability issue.
This is why the OneTeam partnership between Hospital Council and CHA matters. Advocacy, policy alignment, and operational strategy must move in sync. Our rural and critical access hospitals cannot afford fragmented representation in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. Through the OneTeam, we are coordinating strategy, elevating rural voices, and ensuring that the unique realities of rural care delivery are reflected in legislative and regulatory decisions that affect every hospital in California.
CHA’s symposium continues this important work, and will feature speakers who understand rural hospitals’ unique role firsthand:
- Leaders from Marshall and the California Telehealth Resource Center will focus on leveraging digital strategies to improve operations.
- Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) and Assemblymembers Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) and Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced) will share their policy priorities and legislative ideas.
- In a special members-only session, CHA President & CEO Carmela Coyle and CHA Board of Trustees Immediate Past Chair Siri Nelson will answer pressing questions about the future of rural health care.
- California Department of Health Care Access and Information staff will discuss implementation of the much-anticipated Rural Health Transformation Program.
Additional sessions will tackle the Office of Health Care Affordability, sustainable nursing workforce models, federal price transparency requirements, and other forces reshaping hospital operations.
Hospital Council strongly encourages rural leaders — and those in larger systems that depend on rural partnerships — to attend. Because what happens in Humboldt, Plumas, Inyo, Siskiyou, Modoc or Amador counties does not stay there. It affects transfer times, specialty access, system capacity, and, ultimately, patient outcomes across the state.
Continuing to serve patients while navigating the challenges ahead is only possible when we rely on the resources, perspectives, and expertise of those around us. Our rural and critical access hospitals know better than anyone that there is strength in community. If you haven’t already, we hope you will register today.