Meaningful Relationships, Lasting Change

Thomas Schumacher, Director

Rural Hospital Stabilization Program

2/20/2026

Rural, as an idea, is founded on relationships, and its success and future prosperity are forged through personal connection. This is not courtesy layered onto rural living. It is the structure that holds communities together, and for many, rural does not exist without it.

That foundation has never been more important. Rural hospitals and clinics serve as anchors in their communities, yet shifting markets, evolving payment models, rising costs, and persistent workforce shortages have placed many under extraordinary strain. Without support, some are forced to reduce services, and others face the possibility of closure. When this happens, the burden falls on the very people these organizations exist to serve. Care becomes harder to reach. Costs rise. Health outcomes suffer. Communities feel the impact deeply.

This reality is where The National Rural Health Resource Center steps in. Supported by federal partnership and national collaboration, The Center provides technical assistance designed to help rural health care organizations adapt, strengthen, and sustain care close to home. The work spans strategy, operations, finance, quality, workforce, and community engagement, yet the starting point is always the same. Listen first. Learn the story. Understand the people and the place.

Across every program, Center staff travel to meet hospital and clinic leadership and community members, creating space to build mutual understanding. Virtual communication allows reach and efficiency, yet there remains something distinctly rural about sharing space, shaking hands, and seeing the environment where care is delivered. Presence builds trust. Trust opens the door to progress.

That trust matters because technical assistance can easily drift into transaction. Needs become data points. Solutions become processes. Yet behind every assessment or analysis is a workforce carrying responsibility for patients, families, and neighbors, often operating with little margin for error while balancing professional and personal demands. Solutions are rarely as simple as issuing instructions or delivering templates. Without understanding context, even the most well-designed assistance misses a critical element.

For The Center, nothing begins, advances, or endures without cultivated relationships. Once culture and community are understood, impact expands, not because external experts implement change, but because local leaders are equipped and supported to carry the work forward. This is why implementation planning and sustained execution remain central to the assistance provided, always returning to the question of how a community moves from vision to lasting action.

Every community carries passion for preserving access to quality health care close to home. Leaders recognize the responsibility to build strong bonds inside their communities and across partnerships. It is encouraging to witness relationships forming across organizations and sectors, united in improving care and keeping it local.

Sustaining rural health care will require more than innovative models and new technology. It will require people willing to step into communities with curiosity and humility. Those in a position to support this work can begin in the same place The Center does. By showing up. Listening before offering solutions. Taking time to understand the people, the culture, and the aspirations that shape each community. That is where meaningful change begins.