Keep care local. Prove marketing’s value. Compete with confidence.
Pricing
Member rate: $300
Non-member rate: $550 (includes 1-year SHSMD membership)
Reserve Your SeatLeave with reusable templates, a measurement framework, and leadership-ready language you can use right away.
Who This Course Is For
This course is designed for professionals responsible for marketing and growth at rural and independent health care organizations, including:
- Critical access hospitals and rural PPS hospitals
- Independent and community hospitals
- Rural health clinics and FQHCs
- Any resource-limited hospital
- Small marketing teams with limited budgets and broad responsibilities
Whether you are a solo marketer or leading a small team, this program is built to help you do more with what you already have.
Why This Matters Now
- Patients are bypassing local care, even when services exist nearby
- Leadership expects measurable return from every investment
- Teams are smaller, but expectations keep expanding
It is a strategic driver of growth, access, and sustainability.
What You’ll Walk Away With
Concrete deliverables you can use the next day.
- A bypass-reduction community partnership framework (plug-and-play)
- A lightweight measurement dashboard and monthly reporting format
- A brand voice one-pager you can share internally
- A social content pillar map plus repurposing plan
- A localized campaign brief template plus KPI plan
- Leadership-ready talking points to position marketing as strategic
Ready to keep care local and prove your impact?
Reserve your seat and leave with tools you can implement immediately.
Reserve Your SeatCourse at a Glance
| Date | Session | Primary Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, June 4 |
Session 1 From Bypass to Buy-In |
Activate partnerships that reduce bypass |
| Tue, June 9 |
Session 2 Number Detective |
Prove marketing value with existing data |
| Thu, June 11 |
Session 3 Small But Mighty |
Build a voice that earns trust |
| Tue, June 16 |
Session 4 Doing More With Less |
Run social media with strategy and metrics |
| Thu, June 18 |
Session 5 Punching Above Your Weight |
Compete locally with targeted campaigns |
| Tue, June 23 |
Session 6 Leadership Table |
Earn influence in executive decisions |
Course Sessions
From Bypass to Buy-In: Leveraging Community Engagement for Sustainable Growth
What you’ll learn: How to reduce patient bypass by activating local partnerships and aligning services with real community demand.
Matt Bancroft, MSHC
Development Specialist
National Rural Health Resource Center
Alyssa Meller
Chief Operating Officer
National Rural Health Resource Center
You will leave with:
- A practical community engagement framework you can apply immediately
- A data-informed approach to prioritize outreach and partnerships
- A champion toolkit to mobilize local advocates and increase utilization
Full course description
Join this session for practical, low-cost actions you can take to engage community partners, increase service utilization, and reduce bypass. Walk away with tools, data strategies, and a ready-to-use community framework to activate local partnerships and better align services with community needs.
Number Detective: Redefining Marketing’s Role Through Data for Rural Organizations
What you’ll learn: How to use the data you already have to demonstrate marketing’s impact and reposition your role as a revenue driver.
Khrista Boster
Chief Marketing Officer
Woodlawn Health
Rachel Lott
Director, Consulting Practice
Endeavor
You will leave with:
- A core set of accessible metrics to evaluate campaigns and justify investment
- Practical methods to translate data into clear insights for CFOs and CEOs
- A framework to shift marketing from a cost center to a strategic growth function
Full course description
Rural health care organizations operate with tight budgets, making it essential to clearly demonstrate the value of marketing efforts. Learn how to leverage existing data and free resources to evaluate campaigns, set benchmarks, and serve as a strategic partner at the executive level. You will practice turning accessible numbers into a clear story of problem-solving and impact for your marketing department.
Small But Mighty: Crafting a Brand Voice That Speaks Volumes
What you’ll learn: How to define and activate a brand voice that reflects your organization’s identity and resonates with your community.
Katie Engling
Marketing Manager
Johnson County Healthcare Center
You will leave with:
- A clear, adaptable brand voice framework
- Practical tools to maintain messaging consistency across platforms
- Strategies to strengthen trust and visibility without increasing spend
Full course description
Small health care facilities do not have the luxury of massive marketing budgets, but they do have something more powerful: proximity, authenticity, and community trust. In this session, learn how to define and activate a brand voice that reflects your organization’s identity and resonates deeply with the people you serve. You will leave with a practical framework for clarifying messaging, aligning communication across platforms, and maintaining consistency with limited staff and resources.
Stop trying to outspend bigger systems.
Register for the full series and build a strategy that keeps care local.
Register for the Full SeriesDoing More With Less: Strategic Social Media for Small & Rural Hospitals
What you’ll learn: How to build a focused, sustainable social media system that aligns with organizational priorities and community trust.
Mark Crow
President
Tenth Crow Creative
Sara Meyer, MBA
Director of Marketing, Business Development & Call Center
Wood County Hospital
You will leave with:
- A content pillar framework tied to strategic goals
- A system for consistency, clarity, and content repurposing
- Meaningful metrics that demonstrate real impact, not vanity performance
Full course description
Small and rural health care organizations operate in highly visible communities where trust, familiarity, and reputation matter as much as access. Yet marketing teams are often small, stretched, and expected to manage broad service lines with limited resources. This session provides a practical framework for using social media strategically by aligning content with organizational priorities, strengthening community trust, and measuring what truly matters. Participants will leave with actionable tools developed by members of the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development Small & Rural Organizations Task Force.
Punching Above Your Weight: Competing with Health Care Giants Using Localized Marketing
What you’ll learn: How to use targeted, privacy-compliant marketing strategies to compete effectively in your local market.
Jeanette Geer
Sr. Director, Healthcare Partnerships
Spectrum Reach
You will leave with:
- A localized campaign planning approach
- Practical optimization strategies to improve campaign performance
- A clear way to measure and communicate campaign outcomes to leadership
Full course description
Discover how small and rural hospitals can harness the power of localized marketing to achieve their health care goals. Explore data-informed, privacy-compliant strategies that drive measurable success, including the “secret sauce” behind successful campaigns for patient acquisition and outcomes. You will leave equipped with tools to execute effective marketing plans that help your hospital compete and thrive in your community.
Taking Your Seat at the Leadership Table
What you’ll learn: How to position marketing as a strategic partner that informs decisions on growth, service lines, and community investment.
Terri Flood, MHA
Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
Wayne Health
Julia Yoder
Marketing & PR Director
Brookings Health System
Katie Johnson
Vice President, Mission Engagement and NBC-HWC Health Coach
Lake Region Healthcare
You will leave with:
- Strategies to secure a voice in executive decision-making
- Practical approaches to build cross-functional buy-in
- A clear way to use market and patient insights to guide leadership strategy
Full course description
When it comes to strategic imperatives in small and rural health care organizations, marketing can often be a leadership afterthought. This session reframes marketing as an essential component of strategy that goes beyond promotion to help build margins, maximize resources, and support long-term sustainability. Learn from strategy and marketing leaders who have positioned themselves and their teams as trusted, strategic partners. Hear how they build buy-in beyond marketing so decisions are informed by patient behavior, market demand, and community needs.
FAQ
Common questions
Who should attend?
Marketing and growth leaders at rural, independent, and community hospitals, especially teams with limited staff and budget.
Are the sessions interactive?
Sessions are live webinars that include time for Q&A and interaction for faculty. Learners will also use discussion boards to interact with their peers in the course.
Are recordings available?
Yes. Although we encourage all learners to attend live sessions, we understand that it's not always possible. All session recordings will be posted by 12pm CT the next day.
What if I miss a session?
Learners may make up a missed live session by watching the session recording.
What do I need to participate?
A computer with audio and internet access.
Are there any discounts available?
Groups of 3 or more are eligible for discounts. Please contact shsmd@aha.org for more information.
Who can I contact with questions?
Ready to strengthen your rural marketing strategy?
Get the tools to keep care local and demonstrate impact to leadership.
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