Symposium to explore solutions to America's rural health care crisis

LAWRENCE — Some of the nation’s leading experts on rural health care design and administration are coming to the University of Kansas on Nov. 5 to show how new approaches can increase health care access in rural areas while also helping to revitalize small towns across the country. 

Organized by the KU Institute of Health + Wellness Design, the Symposium on Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Healthcare will begin with a keynote address by author Brian Alexander at 11:30 a.m. in the Marvin Hall Forum and livestreamed. 

Following the keynote, a discussion panel led by Tom Trenolone, FAIA, will examine the realities that are threatening the health and economic vitality of rural communities and show how health care designers, providers and local citizens can work together to enhance health services, create jobs and preserve the unique qualities that rural areas and small towns have established over generations. 

The symposium will be followed by a reception at 1:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of Marvin Hall to dedicate the new Pulse Design Group Simulation Lab and Health + Wellness Design Studios. 

Presenters: 

  • Brian Alexander is the author of several books, including "The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town" (2021) and "Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town" (2017). He has written for many magazines and newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Science, Outside and Esquire. Alexander is currently a regular contributor to The Atlantic. 

  • Tom Trenolone, FAIA, is director of design at HDR Architecture in Omaha, Nebraska. His study, Saving Main Street, investigated how architecture can drive solutions by using health and wellness components as the cornerstone of modern rural development. His design concept was named a finalist by Fast Company magazine in its 2020 World Changing Ideas competition.  

Panelists: 

  • Chris Emond is the CFO of Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) in Wasilla, Alaska. He plays a key role in the organization’s overall strategy development and implementation, serves as the management liaison to the MSHF board finance and audit committees, and supports joint venture planning and management. 

  • Charisse Oland, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is CEO of Cuyuna Medical Center. She is an experienced health care executive and consultant for a wide range of complex independent and system health care organizations, nonprofits and for-profit businesses. She served as the president and CEO of hospitals and health systems in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

  • Brock Slabach, COO of the National Rural Health Association, was a rural hospital administrator for more than 21 years and has served on the board of the National Rural Health Association and the regional policy board of the American Hospital Association. He specializes in rural health system development that encompasses population health and the varied payment programs moving rural providers into value-based purchasing models.