Anne DiNardo (HCD / Emerald)
According to the recent report, State of Rural Health Planning in America, by Wold Architects & Engineers (Minneapolis), 72 percent of rural hospital and health-system executives feel ill-equipped to plan, design, and construct capital improvements. This capability gap is stalling critical infrastructure upgrades, even as 53 percent of respondents report significant unmet demand for emergency or urgent care, and 55 percent cite a strong need for senior-focused services.
For the report released this spring, Wold surveyed 100 hospital and health-system executives serving rural and small communities nationwide. Survey respondents identified financial pressures and planning complexities as the primary barriers delaying facility improvements. Despite these challenges, 92 percent of surveyed organizations say they are either currently engaged in strategic master facility planning or expect to begin the process soon. For the healthcare design industry, the findings point to an important opportunity to support rural systems with cross-disciplinary expertise that can help navigate funding barriers and translate urgent community health needs into modernized care environments.
“The challenge ahead is not determining whether action is needed. Rural healthcare leaders already know that,” write Josh Ripplinger and Tu-Anh Bui Johnson of Wold Architects & Engineers in their article, “Building Confidence In Rural Healthcare Planning,” available on the Healthcare Design website. “The challenge is creating the alignment, partnerships and planning structures necessary to move from intention to implementation with clarity and confidence.” (Find the article here.)
For a firsthand example of progress in rural healthcare, this June/July issue highlights the replacement project at Citizens Medical Center in Colby, Kan. Working with HFG Architecture and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., Citizens Health initially planned a campus addition before pivoting to a 171,000-square-foot replacement hospital south of the existing facility. The revised approach minimized disruption to care, accelerated the construction timeline, and expanded local services, including much-needed obstetrical care for the region.
Rural healthcare is also a key topic in the educational programming at the 2026 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo, scheduled for Oct. 17-20 in New Orleans. The full conference schedule is now available, and early registration is open at hcdexpo.com.
Rural communities face distinct challenges, including shifting demographics, workforce shortages, geographic barriers, and evolving care priorities. With stronger planning frameworks, shared expertise, and successful project models, the healthcare design industry can help rural providers develop solutions tailored to their communities while advancing a more equitable healthcare landscape.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design magazine and can be reached at [email protected].
