Spotlighting Rural Hospitals with CORH’s Nancy Dickey and LifeBrite Community Hospital’s Pamela Tillman

Rural Matters

In this 100th episode of Rural Matters and the final installment of our four-part series spotlighting rural hospitals, produced in collaboration with and sponsored by the Center for Optimizing Rural Health (CORH). Michelle chats with Pamela Tillman, Hospital Administrator for LifeBrite Community Hospital of Stokes in rural North Carolina, and Dr. Nancy Dickey, CORH’s Executive Director. CORH selects 30 hospitals for the HRSA-funded Vulnerable Rural Hospital Assistance Program. Those chosen for this free program, whose application period closes July 30, will have access to CORH’s team of rural health experts and receive technical support. CORH is working hard to establish depth in hospital leadership, Dickey adds. Tillman’s 14-bed critical access facility had three COVID cases recently as the pandemic surged again in certain areas of the country. Her hospital had to pivot during the pandemic, she notes, to implement telemedicine initiatives that could provide treatment for patients. During the pandemic, Dickey stated that CORH helped hospitals keep up with current regulations and hospital best practices. This episode and the entire four-part series is sponsored by CORH, https://optimizingruralhealth.org