Rural hospitals face mounting pressure to do more with less—but across our work with hospitals nationwide, Stroudwater has identified clear, repeatable opportunities that consistently deliver results. On average, these opportunities represent nearly $1.7 million in financial improvement—equal to almost 8% of net patient revenue. In this kickoff session of the Performance Improvement Series, we’ll share where rural hospitals most often find measurable impact, from reducing outmigration and strengthening the revenue cycle to expanding swing bed programs and optimizing cost reports. Backed by Stroudwater’s internal data and real-world client successes, this 90-minute overview equips leaders with practical strategies to strengthen financial performance and community impact—while laying the foundation for deeper dives in future sessions.
Key takeaways include:
- See why adopting an abundance and growth mindset is the single most important driver of rural hospital performance.
- Understand how to unlock value by focusing on incremental contribution margins—the small wins that add up to sustainable profitability in a high fixed-cost environment.
- Recognize that nearly every paying service has the potential to contribute positively when structured and managed effectively.
- Learn how thousands of “mini contribution margins” can collectively cover fixed costs and position your hospital for long-term success.
- Understand why relying solely on cost-based reimbursement will never generate the aggregate margin needed for growth—and what to do instead.
