For Tabitha Stone, rural life has always been a part of her story, even when she thought she was ready to leave it all behind.
She grew up in Knoxville, Arkansas, a small town of about 500 residents characterized by its close-knit community ties, few institutions, and miles of farmland. At 19, Tabitha decided to move her life to Little Rock thinking the city was where her future was taking her. While it was not far from Knoxville, it was a vastly different world to be explored. However, her path led her right back to her rural roots when she decided she was ready to settle down. Years later, she has built a life based on the very rural values she once overlooked; raising her family, creating a homestead, and working in a profession that allows her to make a difference in rural communities across the United States.
After returning to a small community, Tabitha began to see rural health through a more personal lens. She began to understand how deeply health care is connected to the circumstances shaping a family’s life when she and her husband became involved with The Call, a local organization that supports, educates, and trains foster and adoptive families. Over the course of four years, they’ve fostered and cared for over 40 children, culminating in the adoption of two of her three sons.
Through her years of involvement with The Call leadership team, and eventually as a foster and adoptive parent, she saw firsthand the hardships that families face as the result of a lack of access to education and available resources and the effects it has on their health and well-being.
“In that journey, it really opened my eyes to the mental health crisis and how lackluster our health care system is for people who are struggling,” she said. “It’s a whole other ball game for families who don’t have access to the vital things they need.”
It was this realization that continues to motivate her work as a Program Specialist with The Center’s Rural Hospital Stabilization Program. “Hospitals have a vision for where they want to be, and it’s my job to get them there,” Tabitha proudly notes. “They don’t know what they don’t know. When you’re dealing with challenges every day, it’s can be overwhelming and difficult for hospitals to look at things with a long-term perspective.”
That’s where Tabitha comes in. Whether she is facilitating important conversations with hospital leaders, connecting them with appropriate resources, or serving as a system of support, she plays a pivotal part in their journey to strengthen their financial stability. It’s through this work that the hospitals she works with can expand their services to make their community stronger and healthier.
Having the ability to inspire sustainable change is the most rewarding part of her job. “When hospital leaders come to us and say that they could not have done this without you, it really means so much. In many instances, they took pieces of something we provided and ran with it, accomplishing more than we even saw coming!”
Since joining The Center in 2022, Tabitha’s appreciation for rural health and the people who keep it going has only grown. “Rural is best!” she says. “You really learn that it’s okay to depend on others. When working in healthcare, the majority of people have incredibly positive intentions. Learning to trust each other while striving to improve communities is incredibly powerful.”
For Tabitha, “rural health” is a term that encompasses more than a physician or an institution. “Rural health expands beyond just providing health care. It is a stronger community tie. Rural health care extends to every aspect of life. It is a term that encompasses caring for others, loving people, and showing mercy.”
Learn about project site visit to Pioneers Medical Center, a hospital that participated in RHPTP to improve quality infrastructure for patients, staff and the community.
Speare Memorial Hospital (SMH), a critical access hospital located in Plymouth, New Hampshire, was one of six organizations selected to participate in the 2022-2023 Rural Health Provider Transition Project (RHPTP). SMH has seen RHPTP’s impact on their improved organizational culture and overall patient experience and is a wonderful example of a health care organization utilizing existing resources to bolster their many strengths and recent goals. The RHPTP team is excited to see what this transition to value-based care brings to their community and is so fortunate to celebrate their progress and commitment in the project. Read more about SMH's top accomplishments and current initiatives toward greater care coordination.
"I use my experience on the farm to help drive creativity."
The Center is proud to shine a spotlight on Deb Laine, one of our program specialists who lives with her husband on a 40-acre farm, along with a flock of sheep, lots of chicken and rabbit, and a guard dog. Her life experience helps guide the high-quality technical assistance the Center provides nationwide.
Read this month's Employee Spotlight for more about Deb, life on the farm, and the 11 years she's spent at The Center.
“We can’t always fix a rural problem with a big city solution."
In this month's employee spotlight, The Center's Lead Program Specialist, Mike Rowland, shares his thoughts on growing up in a rural community, how his background influenced his perspective, and his role in leading technology conversations with rural hospitals and clinics.
“Access to opportunity can change the course of a family’s future.”
As a lead program specialist, Alexis is no stranger to workforce and leadership development and understanding the ways in which its broader impact has on rural communities. In this month’s employee spotlight, Alexis shares her thoughts on what it means to be a representative of the workforce, how to maintain sustainability in an organization, and the importance of listening to what matters.
“Our mission and our vision speak to me because the work that we do is important."
Throughout her 30-year long career with The Center, Lead Program Specialist Angie LaFlamme's passion for supporting rural organizations has remained constant. In this month's employee spotlight, hear Angie's reflections on her path in The Center, the importance of value-based care, and what it means to keep community at the heart of her work.
“We get to build relationships with people who are on the ground and seeing the impact."
In this month's employee spotlight, hear how TASC and SHIP Program Manager Rachel Endo's rural roots shaped her passion for public health and how it continues to fuel her work supporting rural providers nationwide.
