What About Rural Health?™

About What About Rural Health?™

What About Rural Health?™ is a rural health and global health podcast exploring how healthcare is accessed, financed, governed, and delivered in rural and underserved communities. Hosted by Chinasa U. Imo, a global health policy strategist, researcher, and rural health advocate, the podcast brings together policymakers, healthcare professionals, researchers, community leaders, innovators, and people working directly within health systems to examine the decisions, structures, and conditions shaping rural healthcare. Each episode combines first-hand accounts, expert insights, policy conversations, and research to explore issues such as rural healthcare access, health systems strengthening, health financing, workforce shortages, public health, health policy, technology and innovation, community health, and the institutional factors that determine who receives care, where, and when. With perspectives from the United States, Africa, and other parts of the world, What About Rural Health?™ connects local experiences to larger questions about how health systems are designed, funded, and implemented. From deep-dive interviews to field-based storytelling, the podcast brings rural health into global/local focus and examines both the gaps and the solutions shaping care in underserved communities. Whether you are a health professional, student, researcher, policymaker, advocate, or simply curious about how health systems work beyond major cities, What About Rural Health?™ invites you to rethink global health through a rural lens.

Publisher

Chinasa Imo

Category

government · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Jul 2025

Latest episode

16 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

46 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Oct 2026

   Redesigning Rural Healthcare: Affordable Innovations That Save Lives | Karthik Ganesh

   ABOUT THIS EPISODE What happens when healthcare comes to the patient instead of forcing the patient to travel for care? In this episode, Chinasa U. Imo (https://chinasaimo.com/) speaks with Karthik Ganesh (https://www.onmed.com/resources/onmed-announces-karthik-ganesh-as-ceo), Chief Executive Officer of OnMed, about redesigning rural healthcare through affordable, practical technology that brings clinical services closer to where people live, work, and gather. The conversation examines how the OnMed CareStation combines real time access to licensed clinicians with integrated diagnostic tools and a connected care model. It also explores how this approach can help address provider shortages, long travel distances, delayed care, and limited access to primary healthcare in rural and underserved communities. Listeners will hear a grounded discussion about building healthcare technology that is useful, scalable, financially sustainable, and designed around the realities of communities that have historically had fewer options for care. ABOUT THE GUEST Karthik Ganesh is the Chief Executive Officer of OnMed. He is a healthcare executive whose work spans health plans, pharmacy services, health technology, third party administration, provider sponsored services, and value based care. At OnMed, he leads the expansion of the CareStation model, which helps organizations deliver quality healthcare in rural, remote, and other care challenged settings. IN THIS CONVERSATION • Why traditional healthcare delivery models leave many rural communities without timely care • How the OnMed CareStation connects patients with licensed clinicians and diagnostic tools • What affordable healthcare innovation looks like in practice • How health technology can respond to workforce shortages and healthcare deserts • Why partnerships matter when bringing care closer to communities • What it takes to build a scalable clinic without walls (00:00) - Opening: Bringing Healthcare Closer to Rural Communities (03:13) - Meet Karthik Ganesh, CEO of OnMed (06:05) - How the OnMed CareStation Works (10:00) - Portable Care and the Rural Health Post Model (14:01) - Why Cost and Access Problems Persist (17:11) - Rural Hospitals and Physician Shortages (19:00) - Using Rural Health Transformation Funds Differently (24:00) - Making Primary Care the Hub of Rural Health (27:03) - Lessons from Global Health Financing (30:00) - The Future Role of Rural Hospitals (33:00) - Affordability, Transportation, and Patient Barriers (35:09) - A Patient Story: Access That Changed a Life (39:16) - Who Pays for Rural Healthcare Innovation? (41:05) - Public Private Partnerships for Sustainable Care (45:03) - What Policymakers Should Do Now (50:01) - Final Reflections and Closing RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Learn more about OnMed: https://www.onmed.com/ (https://www.onmed.com/) WATCH THE EPISODE Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6lH3ZHGWXk) READ THE TRANSCRIPT Click here to view the episode transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/c598eceb/transcript) ABOUT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ What About Rural Health?™ podcast explores how healthcare is accessed, financed, governed, and delivered in rural and underserved communities. Hosted by Chinasa U. Imo, a global health policy strategist, researcher, and rural health advocate, the podcast brings together researchers, policymakers, health professionals, community leaders, innovators, and people working within health systems to examine the decisions and structures shaping rural healthcare around the world. Visit: https://whataboutruralhealth.com/ (https://whataboutruralhealth.com/) WORK WITH WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ For guest, partnership, sponsorship, media, and collaboration inquiries: info@whataboutruralhealth.com (mailto:info@whataboutruralhealth.com) SUPPORT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ ★ Support this podcast ★ (https://gofund.me/f74d0a77e) FOLLOW WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whataboutruralhealth (https://www.instagram.com/whataboutruralhealth) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-about-rural-health%E2%84%A2 (https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-about-rural-health%E2%84%A2) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatAboutRuralHealth (https://www.youtube.com/@WhatAboutRuralHealth) Facebook: https://facebook.com/whataboutruralhealth (https://facebook.com/whataboutruralhealth) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whataboutruralhealth1 (https://www.tiktok.com/@whataboutruralhealth1) X: https://x.com/Ruralist_Health (https://x.com/Ruralist_Health) WATCH THE EPISODE DIRECTLY Watch on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6lH3ZHGWXk)

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   The Cost of Rural Healthcare Burnout (Part 1) | Mary Ellen Doty

   ABOUT THIS EPISODE Rural healthcare burnout and staffing shortages are placing enormous pressure on clinicians and the communities that depend on them. Mary Ellen Doty, founder of Wilderness Medical Staffing, joins Chinasa Imo to discuss why rural providers burn out, how workforce shortages affect patient access, and what sustainable rotational staffing can offer remote communities. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in remote Alaska, Mary Ellen explains what happens when clinicians work in isolated communities with limited resources. She shares why conventional staffing models often fail rural facilities and how autonomy, community trust, and purposeful work can help clinicians rediscover meaning in medicine. ABOUT THE GUEST Mary Ellen Doty is an advanced nurse practitioner, rural health entrepreneur, and founder of Wilderness Medical Staffing. Her rotational staffing model has served more than 150 rural and remote clinics. She is also the author of Medicine at 50 Below: A Memoir of Healthcare, Healing, and Hope in Rural Alaska. IN THIS CONVERSATION The real cost of rural healthcare burnout Why rural and remote clinics struggle to recruit and retain clinicians How staffing shortages affect access, continuity, and patient outcomes The relationship between professional autonomy and clinician wellbeing How rotational medical staffing can support remote communities Lessons from delivering care in rural Alaska and Indigenous communities Why sustainable rural healthcare requires workforce solutions designed around place WHO SHOULD LISTEN This conversation is for rural clinicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, hospital administrators, healthcare executives, workforce planners, public health professionals, medical staffing leaders, rural health researchers, policymakers, and students interested in rural and Indigenous health. RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Mary Ellen Doty https://maryellendoty.com Chinasa Imo https://chinasaimo.com WATCH THE EPISODE Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nev-vY7KVyw) READ THE TRANSCRIPT ABOUT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ What About Rural Health?™ explores how healthcare is accessed, financed, governed, and delivered in rural and underserved communities. Hosted by Chinasa Imo, the podcast brings together researchers, policymakers, health professionals, community leaders, innovators, and people working within health systems to examine the decisions and structures shaping rural healthcare around the world. Visit: https://whataboutruralhealth.com WORK WITH WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ For guest, partnership, sponsorship, media, and collaboration inquiries: info@whataboutruralhealth.com SUPPORT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ ★ Support this podcast ★ (https://gofund.me/f74d0a77e) FOLLOW WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whataboutruralhealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-about-rural-health%E2%84%A2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatAboutRuralHealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/whataboutruralhealth TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whataboutruralhealth1 X: https://x.com/Ruralist_Health

3. 

   20 Sept 2026

   Funding Rural Healthcare in Conflict Zones and Disaster Areas (Part 2) | Dr Nashwan Al Othman

   ABOUT THIS EPISODE How can rural healthcare systems move from emergency response to long-term resilience in conflict zones and disaster areas? In Part 2 of this conversation, Chinasa U. Imo (https://chinasaimo.com/) and Dr Nashwan Al Othman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nashwanalothman) examine how governments, humanitarian organizations, funders, and local health leaders can finance rural healthcare before, during, and after crises. They discuss practical approaches to disaster preparedness, workforce protection, medical supply chains, mobile care, local partnerships, and rebuilding damaged health systems. This episode explores rural healthcare in conflict zones, humanitarian health financing, disaster medicine, emergency preparedness, health system resilience, and the investments needed to protect underserved and conflict-affected communities. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr Nashwan Al Othman, MD, MBA is a physician, endocrinologist, healthcare management consultant, and disaster medicine expert. His work spans healthcare delivery, global health, emergency response, and health system resilience in conflict and disaster settings. IN THIS CONVERSATION • How to finance rural healthcare before the next emergency • Why local leadership and community trust matter during crises • Strategies for protecting health workers and restoring essential services • How mobile care, supply chains, and partnerships support rural access • What funders and policymakers must prioritize for long-term resilience • How conflict and disaster lessons can strengthen rural health systems globally WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR Health policymakers, humanitarian organizations, disaster medicine professionals, emergency planners, public health leaders, rural health advocates, researchers, funders, and anyone working to strengthen healthcare access in conflict-affected and disaster-prone communities. RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Dr Nashwan Al Othman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nashwanalothman World Health Organization: Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management: https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-emergency-and-disaster-risk-management Share a rural health story: https://whataboutruralhealth.com/stories WATCH THE EPISODE Click here to watch a video of this episode. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfaqCVx2gXw) READ THE TRANSCRIPT ABOUT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ What About Rural Health?™ explores how healthcare is accessed, financed, governed, and delivered in rural and underserved communities. Hosted by Chinasa U. Imo, a global health policy strategist, researcher, and rural health advocate, the podcast brings together researchers, policymakers, health professionals, community leaders, innovators, and people working within health systems to examine the decisions and structures shaping rural healthcare around the world. Visit: https://whataboutruralhealth.com/ WORK WITH WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ For guest, partnership, sponsorship, media, and collaboration inquiries: info@whataboutruralhealth.com SUPPORT WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ ★ Support this podcast ★ (https://gofund.me/f74d0a77e) NEWSLETTER Subscribe: https://whataboutruralhealth.com/ FOLLOW WHAT ABOUT RURAL HEALTH?™ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whataboutruralhealth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/what-about-rural-health%E2%84%A2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatAboutRuralHealth Facebook: https://facebook.com/whataboutruralhealth TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whataboutruralhealth1 X: https://x.com/Ruralist_Health

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.