The kids are alright: building a better staffing pipeline for rural New England by reaching a younger audience.
New England's rural workforce crisis is shaped by housing costs, second-home ownership, tourism, aging populations, chronic disease, and primary care shortages. Ann Marie Day explains how NERHA is building student pipelines, rural exposure programs, internships, preceptorships, and leadership pathways to grow the next generation of rural health professionals.
Episode Summary
This episode explores how rural New England is building a stronger healthcare workforce pipeline by reaching students earlier. Ann Marie Day describes how housing costs, second-home ownership, tourism, and remote work have made it harder for local healthcare workers and recruited clinicians to live in rural communities. She also explains how New England's rural access challenges include older populations, chronic disease, social determinants of health, primary care shortages, and facility-wide staffing gaps. NERHA's approach focuses on growing people from the community through internships, preceptorships, student summits, rural scholar pathways, AHEC partnerships, farm-based rural immersion experiences, telehealth advocacy, and leadership opportunities that keep students connected to rural practice.
People Mentioned
- •Andy Lowe — Executive Director, New England Rural Health Association
- •Kirby Lecy — Massachusetts State Office of Rural Health leader referenced in the conversation
About the Guest
Ann Marie Day
Chief Operating Officer, New England Rural Health Association
Ann Marie Day is Chief Operating Officer of the New England Rural Health Association, where she oversees operations and supports financial, staff, and programmatic development. Her background includes healthcare administration, quality improvement, medication safety, population health, social services, and more than eight years working with a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Western Maine.