Orleans Community Health CEO joins rural healthcare leaders at national workshop

Marc Shurtz

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health CEO/CIO Marc Shurtz recently joined rural healthcare leaders from across the country for an invitation-only workshop focused on strengthening the financial and operational sustainability of rural hospital.

Hosted by the National Rural Health Association in Kansas City, Mo., the workshop brought together chief executive officers from eight hospitals participating in NRHA-sponsored strategic, financial and operational assessments. The technical assistance initiative is made possible through a cooperative agreement between NRHA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Facilities Program.

For Orleans Community Health, participation provides access to national rural healthcare experts, peer hospital leaders and resources specifically designed to help rural organizations evaluate their operations and identify opportunities for long-term sustainability.

“Rural healthcare continues to face challenges that require us to constantly evaluate how we operate, how we use our resources and how we prepare for the future,” Shurtz said. “Opportunities like this allow us to learn from experts who work specifically with rural hospitals, while also sitting at the table with other CEOs facing many of the same challenges. We can bring those conversations and ideas back to Orleans Community Health and determine what makes sense for our organization and the communities we serve.”

The workshop was led by Eric Shell, chairman of Stroudwater Associates, and Brian Bertsch, partner at Eide Bally, both of whom have extensive experience in rural healthcare finance, operations and leadership consulting.

Shurtz said the ability to exchange ideas with other rural healthcare executives is particularly valuable as Orleans Community Health continues to focus on maintaining access to healthcare locally.

“Our responsibility is not simply to look at where Orleans Community Health is today, but where we need to be five, 10 and 20 years from now,” Shurtz said. “Keeping rural healthcare sustainable requires difficult conversations, careful financial planning and a willingness to continually evaluate how care is delivered. Having access to organizations like NRHA and leaders from other rural hospitals gives us additional resources and perspectives as we make those decisions.”

Orleans Community Health was the only New York healthcare organization represented among the eight participating hospitals. Other participants represented rural healthcare organizations in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The workshop preceded the 2026 Critical Access Hospital Conference and provided participating organizations with an opportunity to prepare for their upcoming assessments and identify strategies that can be applied within their individual communities.

For Orleans Community Health, the initiative complements ongoing efforts to strengthen services, improve operational efficiency and ensure that residents of Orleans County and the surrounding region continue to have access to healthcare close to home.

“Rural hospitals are different from larger healthcare systems, and the solutions have to reflect those differences,” Shurtz said. “Our goal remains the same – to build an organization that is financially and operationally sustainable while continuing to provide the services our community depends on.”