TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The health and sustainability of rural healthcare in Michigan took center stage as leaders from the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) convened for the highly successful 2025 Michigan CAH Conference. Held on November 6-7 in beautiful Traverse City, the event united representatives from all 35 Critical Access Hospitals and drew over 120 attendees and 17 speakers.
Collaboration and Innovation Drive Rural Sustainability
The atmosphere was vibrant as attendee’s dove into a day and a half of intensive, peer-to-peer learning and networking. A powerful slate of topics was covered, carefully curated by the dedicated planning committee. Participants actively exchanged strategies and built connections crucial for improving the performance and ensuring the long-term sustainability of Michigan's essential rural hospitals.
The momentum began even before the official kickoff, as the Michigan Center for Rural Health hosted the inaugural "Population Health Network" meeting, a strategic gathering aimed at shaping the future of community health in rural areas. Building on this foundation, representatives from 33 of Michigan’s 35 Critical Access Hospitals later came together to explore collaborative, community-driven strategies to strengthen rural population health.
Thursday morning started with a flurry of activity, featuring specialized meetings for the CEO Leadership Forum, the MICAH Quality Network, and the CFO Meeting. The CFO/Finance Meeting brought strong engagement across the CAH finance leaders. Jonathan Pantenburg sparked great discussion around maintaining a high-functioning revenue cycle, followed by insightful presentations from Intellimed and Eide Bailly on leveraging outmigration data and Michigan’s growing benchmarking movement. The Michigan Critical Access Hospital Quality Network meeting brought together over 70 attendees for meaningful peer sharing and collaboration focused on elevating quality across rural hospitals. The thoughtful planning and guidance of the MICAH QN Executive Committee played a key role in shaping an impactful event, fostering connections and actionable insights that will support ongoing improvement efforts statewide. Meanwhile, the CEO Leadership Forum engaged attendees with a series of insightful speakers throughout their two-hour meeting.
The conference officially launched after lunch with a critical keynote address from Brock Slabach, Chief Operating Officer of the National Rural Health Association. Slabach delivered essential insights into federal changes and policies that will directly impact Critical Access Hospitals, arming state leaders with the knowledge to navigate the evolving healthcare landscape.
Keeping the momentum high, the event showcased a bustling Exhibit Hall with 26 exhibitor tables, offering attendees prime opportunities to discover the newest innovations, essential services, and strategic partnerships designed to support CAHs.
Networking and Community Impact Shine
Thursday’s program culminated in a lively evening networking reception. Against the backdrop of live entertainment from the Mike Davis Trio, leaders connected and celebrated the day's achievements.
This event also featured a successful silent auction that demonstrated the generous spirit of Michigan’s healthcare community. Thanks to incredible donations from hospitals and the venue, the auction successfully raised over $3,000 for OsteoCHAMPS. These funds will directly support rural high school students by enabling them to attend the program and explore future careers in healthcare. Stay tuned for an announcement on the selected rural students in the coming months!
Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders
Friday morning was packed with impactful presentations. Crystal Barter, MCRH’s Director of Programs and Services, kicked off the day with a Medicare Flexibility Grant update. This was followed by crucial legal and policy information from Andrew Heberling, Attorney, on Health Law Updates, and a review of state initiatives by Nicole Hudson from the Michigan Medicaid office.
The conference wrapped up with a forward-looking workforce panel presentation focused on succession planning, cultivating the next generation of rural healthcare leaders, and ensuring the continuity of high-quality care across the state.
Thank you!
A heartfelt thank you to all attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and speakers, your commitment made this conference a resounding success.
Learn More About MCRH's Annual Conferences.