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Hidden potential is everywhere — but leaders must create the conditions for it to emerge. 

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? 

Last week, the Hospital Council Board of Directors held its first meeting of the year, setting a strong tone around priorities, advocacy, and collaboration in what is shaping up to be a challenging environment for hospitals at all levels of government. 

Next week, the Hospital Council Board of Directors will meet for the first time in 2026, kicking off what promises to be a challenging and consequential year for hospitals across California.  

Hospitals need help. And last week, hospital leaders made sure Washington, D.C., heard that message loud and clear. 

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” – David Bowie 

This week, I had the honor of welcoming more than 200 behavioral health care professionals to the California Hospital Association’s annual Behavioral Health Symposium. Over two days, we dug into the hard questions shaping California’s behavioral health future: how we build and retain a workforce to meet soaring patient demand, whether infrastructure investments will truly expand access to care, and what it takes to provide empathetic, person-centered support to a population whose needs are growing faster than the system built to serve them. 

“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” 
John F. Kennedy