2025 Rural Health Virtual Summit
- Opening remarks – Joe Brennan, Vice President at TytoCare
- Keeping Rural America Healthy: The Power of Community Health Centers – Sonja W. Bachus, SVP, PCA and HCCN Relations at NACHC
- Virtual Care, Real Impact: How Telehealth Supports Rural Health Access & Workforce – Scott Weatherill, Chief Information Officer, and Lacey Finkbeiner, Clinical Informatics Specialist at Horizon Health
- Health on Campus: Bridging the Gap in Healthcare for Rural Communities – Heather Armstrong, Project & Product Manager at Comanche County Medical Center Health System
- Bridging the Hospital to Rural Colorado: Virtual Care That Works – Dr. Hemali Patel, Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Christina Denton, Manager, Virtual Health Support Team at UCHealth
- Telehealth Federal Policy Landscape – Alexis Apple, Director of Federal Affairs at the American Telemedicine Association (ATA)
- Roundtable – An open discussion with the esteemed guests
Featuring
Learn more from each of our speakers
Sonja W. Bachus – Keeping Rural America Healthy: The Power of Community Health Centers
Sonja W. Bachus highlighted how community health centers (CHCs) expand rural healthcare, serving 32.5 million patients. She underscored their impact, telehealth integration, and roles in reducing costs and supporting economic growth. Despite workforce shortages and hospital closures, CHCs remain crucial to rural safety-net care.
Scott Weatherill and Lacey Finkbeiner – Virtual Care, Real Impact: How telehealth supports rural health access & workforce
Scott Weatherill and Lacey Finkbeiner shared Horizon Healthcare’s telehealth evolution in rural South Dakota, using TytoCare for primary and dental care and Webex for behavioral health. They highlighted “providerless clinics,” bridging workforce gaps and expanding access through partnerships and creative technology solutions.
Innovative ways to improve access to care in underserved communities
Lacey Finkbeiner of Horizon Healthcare joined other Community Health Center leaders on a webinar hosted by TytoCare in 2024. She shared how Horizon are using virtual care to increase access and solve staffing shortages. Watch the full webinar now here.
Heather Armstrong – Health on Campus: Bridging the Gap in Healthcare for Rural Communities
Heather Armstrong shared how Comanche County Medical Center bridges rural healthcare gaps with “Health on Campus,” a school telehealth program using TytoCare. Their quick diagnoses, free prescription delivery, and community partnerships reduce barriers and keep students in class.
Dr. Hemali Patel & Christina Denton – Bridging the Hospital to Rural Colorado: Virtual Care That Works
Hemali Patel and Christina Denton detailed UCHealth’s Virtual Hospitalist program, which supports smaller and rural hospitals overnight. Using TytoCare devices, they provide admissions, consults, rapid responses, and triage remotely, improving access, outcomes, and staff satisfaction.
Alexis Apple – Telehealth Federal Policy Landscape
Alexis Apple from the ATA outlined federal telehealth policy developments, highlighting bipartisan support, Medicare extensions, and the drive for permanent reforms. She also covered controlled-substance prescribing rules, cross-state licensure barriers, and emerging issues like AI and privacy.
Learn more
A New Era of Healthcare Delivery: Providing Access to Rural and Underserved Populations
In today’s healthcare climate, reaching rural and underserved populations is vital. What is telehealth’s role in bringing better healthcare to these members? Our recent Fierce webinar offers practical and effective solutions to enhance patient outcomes, reduce costs, and improve healthcare access for rural and underserved populations. Learn about telehealth’s potential to increase patient retention and […]
Addressing the problem of rural healthcare deserts
Many Americans living in rural areas are medically underserved. Can telehealth alleviate the burden by providing virtual healthcare to patients, wherever they are? Rural healthcare ‘deserts’ Rural healthcare disparities are a growing concern in America. Dozens of rural hospital facilities have closed over the past decade, and hundreds more are classified as vulnerable to closure. […]
Boosting Virtual Care Adoption, Health Equity in Rural Areas
Rural Americans face a wide array of healthcare issues. They’re more likely to die of chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and stroke, and have higher rates of obesity and diabetes. This disparity is driven by a number of factors, including poor access to healthcare services. Virtual care modalities, including telehealth and remote patient monitoring, […]
Care at remote sites with experts Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Patel
Leveraging remote care sites enables providers to deliver care that is more effective and efficient. TytoCare recently held a webinar on meeting patients wherever they are through remote care sites. Our panelists were Dr. John Jenkins, Medical Director of School-based Care at Cone Health, and Dr. Nick Patel, Digital Health and Strategic Advisor, and the […]
Innovative ways to improve access to care in underserved communities
For Community Health Centers, increasing access to healthcare for underserved communities is key. However, it can be challenging to do this within existing budgets and with the limited staff available. This is why FQHCs need to leverage innovative technologies and ideas to grow the impact of their programs within the constraints of available resources. This […]
A New Era of Healthcare Delivery: Providing Access to Rural and Underserved Populations
In today’s healthcare climate, reaching rural and underserved populations is vital. What is telehealth’s role in bringing better healthcare to these members? Our recent Fierce webinar offers practical and effective solutions to enhance patient outcomes, reduce costs, and improve healthcare access for rural and underserved populations. Learn about telehealth’s potential to increase patient retention and […]
Addressing the problem of rural healthcare deserts
Many Americans living in rural areas are medically underserved. Can telehealth alleviate the burden by providing virtual healthcare to patients, wherever they are? Rural healthcare ‘deserts’ Rural healthcare disparities are a growing concern in America. Dozens of rural hospital facilities have closed over the past decade, and hundreds more are classified as vulnerable to closure. […]
Boosting Virtual Care Adoption, Health Equity in Rural Areas
Rural Americans face a wide array of healthcare issues. They’re more likely to die of chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and stroke, and have higher rates of obesity and diabetes. This disparity is driven by a number of factors, including poor access to healthcare services. Virtual care modalities, including telehealth and remote patient monitoring, […]
Care at remote sites with experts Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Patel
Leveraging remote care sites enables providers to deliver care that is more effective and efficient. TytoCare recently held a webinar on meeting patients wherever they are through remote care sites. Our panelists were Dr. John Jenkins, Medical Director of School-based Care at Cone Health, and Dr. Nick Patel, Digital Health and Strategic Advisor, and the […]
Innovative ways to improve access to care in underserved communities
For Community Health Centers, increasing access to healthcare for underserved communities is key. However, it can be challenging to do this within existing budgets and with the limited staff available. This is why FQHCs need to leverage innovative technologies and ideas to grow the impact of their programs within the constraints of available resources. This […]
Tackling staff shortages in rural areas with virtual care
Rural America is disproportionally underserved when it comes to healthcare due to staff shortages and a lack of access to quality services. This blog post explores how virtual care can be leveraged as a solution to combat these staff shortages, providing improved convenience and cost-effectiveness for those living in rural areas. Overview of rural America’s […]
