Seven rural Michigan hospital leaders were recently appointed as inaugural board members to the newly established MHA Center of Rural Excellence by the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Board of Trustees. These members are responsible for providing formal governance for the new organization.

Jeremiah J. Hodshire, president and chief executive officer, Hillsdale Hospital, will serve as the center’s chair and the MHA Board of Trustees representative for a three-year term.

In addition to Hodshire, the MHA Board of Trustees approved the appointment of six rural healthcare leaders to serve on the MHA Center of Rural Excellence Board:

• Thomas Kurtz, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Memorial Healthcare, will serve a three-year term. Andrew Raymond, chief executive officer, Kalkaska Memorial Health Center, represents Michigan’s independent hospitals alongside Kurtz and will serve a two-year term.
• Amanda Shelast, Marshfield Clinic Network President, Michigan and South, will serve a one-year term. Wendy Frush, RN, chief executive officer, Munising Memorial Hospital will serve a two-year term. Shelast and Frush represent the association’s rural members in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
• Peter Marinoff, chief executive officer, Munson Healthcare Southern Region, will serve a one-year term and represent the state’s critical access hospitals.
• Ross Ramsey, MD, chief executive officer, Scheurer Health, will serve a three-year term as the board’s physician representative.

“This board brings together rural healthcare leaders from across the state who share a commitment to preserving care close to home for Michiganders,” said MHA CEO Brian Peters. “Under their leadership, the MHA Center of Rural Excellence will prioritize policies and initiatives that allow rural hospitals to remain resilient and responsive to the needs of their communities.”

The MHA Center of Rural Excellence, a 501(c)(6) organization, was created to formalize and strengthen the collective voice of rural hospitals through support tailored to the unique challenges of Michigan’s rural providers.

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