After a successful first year of the Hospital Leadership Training Program, The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center is working to spread the word about the value of high quality hospital board education. On May 5th, the Center was invited to speak on rural hospital leadership training at the National Rural Health Association’s 2021 annual meeting. NRHA is the premiere national organization focused on rural health and the perfect venue for bringing national attention to the work being done here in Georgia. The Center manages Georgia’s legally mandated hospital leadership training program and is responsible for setting the parameters and standards for that training. In 2020 all rural not-for-profit hospitals were required to come into compliance with the training requirement. In total 57 rural hospitals participated and 100% of all required individuals completed the training.
Along with the Center, Texas A&M University’s Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH) presented information on their work with hospital board training. With support from the Health Services and Resource Administration (HRSA), CORH offers training to hospitals participating in their technical assistance program. Over the past 6 months, the Center and CORH have collaborated and shared knowledge pertaining to board training. As two of the only organizations focused on and actively working on this important issue, the collaboration has proven an asset to both programs. During the presentation, both models were presented along with challenges and successes. Additionally, the audience was able to hear directly from a hospital leader who went through training and about the trainee experience.
Going forward, the Center is eager to continue building awareness around the need and benefits of a well-trained hospital board. The program remains a key focus of the Center and a tremendous benefit to our state.
The Center’s Hospital Leadership Training program addresses the strategic healthcare availability and access Grand Challenge initiative.
Submitted by Chris Scoggins, MPH