95. Live from Arizona: Rural Realities, System Shifts, and the Quest for Access

We’re on the road in Flagstaff for the Arizona Rural Health Conference, diving into the unique challenges and opportunities facing rural healthcare in the Southwest. From a whiny farmer update about Arizona’s never-ending dry spell (and Iowa’s surprise rain) to on-the-ground conversations about provider recruitment, mobile crisis units spanning multiple states, and age-friendly system goals by 2026, this episode covers it all. We also unpack the state’s hospital dashboard data, the complexities of healthcare on native lands, and the chaos that ensues when your doctor changes EHR platforms—cue the acronym soup. Join us for insights, laughs, and a look at what might actually be working in the desert.In this episode, you will be able to:Mastering rural healthcare access for behavioral health challenges.Transforming healthcare systems to meet the needs of an aging population.Unveiling the secrets to successful healthcare provider recruitment and retention.Revolutionizing crisis response through mobile interventions.Unraveling the impact of Medicaid on rural healthcare.The key moments in this episode are:00:00:02 - Introduction to Behavioral Health Systems00:03:19 - Changing Systems and Policy Implications00:06:04 - Age-Friendly Health Systems and Medicare00:07:57 - Recruiting Providers and Retention Challenges00:11:17 - Mobile Crisis Response in Arizona00:11:57 - Mobile Crisis Services00:13:35 - Challenges in Mental Health Care00:14:55 - Transparency in Hospital Data00:18:27 - Medicaid Funding00:21:04 - Electronic Health Record Challenges00:24:08 - Taking a Mental Health Day00:25:33 - Balancing Work and Play00:26:47 - Arizona Rural Health Conference00:27:50 - Wrapping Up and Call to Action00:28:19 - Signing OffLinks:https://www.azahcccs.gov/Resources/Reports/AHCCCS-InpatientAdmissionsDashboard.htmlhttps://www.fsg.org/resource/water_of_systems_change/https://crh.arizona.edu/events/51st-annual-arizona-rural-health-conferencehttps://public.tableau.com/app/profile/crisis.network/viz/CRN600-ContactCenterOverallDashboard/CRN600Connect with us: https://ruralpolicypartners.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/linkedin.com/company/rural-policy-partners/ https://www.facebook.com/facebook.com/ruralpolicypartnershttps://www.youtube.com/@ruralpolicypartners Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eC1CiWux4X8