Revenue Cycle Bootcamp: August 21 |
Revenue Cycle Teams – Join the HomeTown team in Cordele for the 2026 Revenue Cycle Bootcamp. This year's bootcamp, led by Sandy Sage, RN and Rachel Savary, includes training centered on regulatory and compliance updates, contract negotiation, as well as staffing and productivity.
The Revenue Cycle Bootcamp is provided through the HomeTown SHIP Consortium. As such, the following organizations can attend with no registration costs: Appling | Clinch | Dodge | Flint River | Jefferson | Memorial & Manor | Optim Health – Tattnall | Taylor Regional | Warm Springs
Not one of these organizations but would like to attend? Contact Lauren Adair at lauren.adair@hometownhealthonline.com for more options.
Register for Bootcamp - Click Here |
Annual Award Nominations Being Accepted |
As part of our Fall Conference, HomeTown will recognize its Executive Leadership Class of 2026 as well as announce its annual position and organizational winners from within our network. Nominations are now being accepted through online form submission:
Register for Conference Here: Hospitals & Clinics | Business Partners
Early Bird Rate Applies until September 15. Room block at Callaway expires September 22. |
Attention Webinar Attendees & IT Teams |
HTHU Webinars Move to Teams in September |
Beginning in September, all HomeTown hosted webinar sessions will be hosted via the Teams platform. We will no longer be utilizing the GoToWebinar platform that has historically been our webinar hosting solution. For all organizations, this may mean that an IT-centered change will be needed to add HomeTown has a 'trusted' network, or approved tenant, within your security protocols. For attendees, you may see additional prompt when joining a webinar as you come in under the Teams system. An attendee instructional sheet is available for review and for assistance in joining your first live session on Teams hosted series.
If you would like to confirm that your attendance and participation in live webinars will not be impacted by this change through a testing session with your/your IT and HomeTown, please feel free to let us know and if you need any support during the transition times, please don't hesitate to reach out to hthtech@hometownhealthonline.com.
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HTHU: Summer Recertification Webinars |
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Revenue Cycle Professionals - make plans to attend the upcoming recertification webinars for 2026! Each webinar offers 90 minutes of industry updates, best practices, compliance reminders and education around key subject areas. Recertifications are designed to be taken annually for those who have previously completed the CHHS, PAC, PAS, Billing Certification, Billing Specialist and FCC!
HTHU Subscribers - Log in and find these webinars in the School of Revenue Cycle Management catalog to enroll today! Not a subscriber? Recordings will be posted for sale after the live sessions and visible for purchase in the School of Revenue Cycle Management approximately one week after the live session concludes. |
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Upcoming Webinars & Events Monthly GA Provider Reimbursement Webinar
August 5 | 10 AM EDT Monthly Medicare Update August 12 | 10 AM EDT 2026 Financial Counseling Recertification with HTHU August 13| 12:30 PM EDT Free Webinar: Protecting Financial Sustainability in Rural & Critical Access Hospitals
August 21 | 10 am EDT Revenue Cycle Bootcamp | Cordele, GA
August 21| 9 AM EDT
Login at https://lms.hthu.net to register, enroll, attend live webinar sessions or view recordings of all webinar events! |
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Reimbursement & Payor Updates from Sandy Sage |
Sandy has launched a new email campaign series centered around reimbursement updates by payor, released as updates are available. If you'd like to be added to the send list, please let Sandy know at sandy.sage@hometownhealthonline.com. |
Rural Transformation Resources |
HomeTown Health is committed to keeping you informed and empowered as Georgia embarks on the most significant rural health transformation in decades. We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates, resources and support to help your hospital maximize the benefits of these programs, as we also continue to partner with the Department of Community Health and others for guidance on next steps for participation in this program. Feel free to reach out to Kristy Thomson, COO with any questions.
Florida Rural Health Transformation Program Update: - RFA Opportunities are closed and are currently under review.
- Florida Health Information Exchange (HIE) Modernization Went Live July 1, 2026
- Expanded HIE participation statewide
- Enhanced event notification and interoperability capabilities
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For more information about CRISP Shared Services, view website.
Georgia Rural Health Transformation Program Update: AHEAD Assessments -
AHEAD Operational Readiness Assessment Survey was emailed to LOI hospitals the week of July 20th, 2026. Due August 14, 2026
- Hospitals received these individually, along with a link and individual ID number for their hospital specific survey
Funding Opportunities - There are currently no open funding opportunities
- Award for the Telehealth Enhancements funding is forthcoming
DCH Announcements |
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Gold Partner | Approved Service Line: Telenephrology Services
TeleNeph, the leading provider of telenephrology services, offers a complete clinical nephrology solution that brings specialized nephrology care to rural communities. We support our rural hospitals with a dedicated nephrologist available 24x7 for all nephrology issues, including CKD, AKI, and electrolyte management.
We are not a call center with a rotation of nephrologists; your clinical team will always communicate directly with your dedicated nephrologist. With one dedicated nephrologist, you avoid handoff issues to ensure better continuity of care. And all nephrologist inquiries receive a response within 10 minutes.
Our comprehensive, end-to-end nephrology solution enables hospitals nationwide to establish or enhance nephrology care. We leverage your existing technology; we believe technology should never delay clinical care.
Contact Ron Kubit, CEO, at rkubit@telenephllc.com or (303) 596-8945 for more information or visit telenephllc.com. |
Webinar Recording Available:
Protecting Financial Sustainability in Rural & Critical Access Hospitals
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Insurance Capture | Precision Presumptive Charity Classification | ICTF & Directed Payment Optimization |
This webinar showcases how rural and Critical Access hospitals can strengthen financial sustainability by combining insurance discovery, presumptive charity/FAP classification, and reimbursement intelligence inside existing billing workflows. The session will focus on how hospitals can protect reimbursement before it is lost by identifying missed Medicaid and other insurance coverage, improving charity/FAP accuracy, reducing avoidable bad debt, and supporting DSH, ICTF, directed-payment, and audit-readiness requirements. It will also include provider-class results and case-study examples from Effingham Health System and Jenkins County Medical Center. View the Recording on HTHU |
HomeTown's Leadership Engagement Webinar Series: September 5
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In today’s demanding healthcare environment, resilience is no longer optional—it is essential. This dynamic webinar equips healthcare professionals and leaders with practical strategies to recharge their energy, sustain wellbeing, and navigate ongoing stress with clarity and confidence.
The Energy of Wellbeing: Charging Your Batteries explores how physical, emotional, and cognitive energy directly impact performance, decision-making, and patient care. Participants will learn how to recognize early signs of depletion, implement micro-practices to restore energy throughout the workday, and build sustainable habits that support long-term resilience.
This session, led by Lisa Carhuff, MSN, RN goes beyond individual wellbeing by connecting personal energy management to team effectiveness. Participants will also gain insight into how DiSC styles can improve team dynamics and reduce friction, and how CliftonStrengths® can be leveraged to enhance personal resilience, engagement, and effectiveness.
This webinar is ideal for healthcare professionals, team leaders and administrators seeking to enhance resilience. Enroll Now! |
MCG Free Training for FQHC and CHC Educational Affiliates
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A half day Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Educational Engagement Series Program at no-cost is being offered to all of MCG’s FQHC and CHC Educational Affiliates to discuss Team Based Behavioral Health in Primary Care on Friday November 13, 2026, 12:30 PM to 5:00 PM. This event, which is based on feedback received from MCG’s FQHC/CHC Educational Affiliates, will be hosted by Oconee Valley Healthcare in Greensboro, Georgia and its CEO, Dr. Dave Ringer, at Lakeside Community Church 5800 Oconee Parkway.
The program is open to any of your providers (physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, licensed clinical social workers, and pharmacists) as well as others in your practice and community who facilitate behavioral health services for your patients (e.g., public health providers, rural hospital personnel, etc.) The program, coordinated by MCG’s Chairs of the Departments of Psychiatry and Health Behavior and Family and Community Medicine, will include resident participants and opportunities for interactive discussions to address challenges faced when providing behavioral health care services in your communities.
Attached is an official invitation to this free program with a link to register and other information (e.g., location, official program, and free continuing education information) for distribution to any of your providers and community partners.
Although lodging and travel are not covered by this conference, a list of low-cost hotels in the area are provided on the registration link for those who wish to extend their visit. We look forward to you and/or your colleagues’ participation in this inaugural MCG Engagement Series program for its FQHC, CHC, and other rural and community educational partners that seek to address challenges affecting all our practices. To help us plan, please register by October 23, 2026.
The MCG Engagement Series Registration Link is: MCG Engagement Series - FQHC, CHC, Family Medicine, & Psychiatry (Team-Based Behavioral Health in PC and is also included on the attached Flyer. *All attendees must register via MCG’s Cloud CME platform.
If you have any questions about registration, please contact Lauren Watkins at lawatkins@augusta.edu or Charlotte Howard at choward5@augusta.edu. |
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| Gold Partner | Approved Service Line: Hospital at Home Consulting
Tripp Hollander Advisors (THA) provides expert consulting for comprehensive, complex care at home. We help customers build hospital at home programs from the inside out - uniquely tailored to their priorities, values, communication patterns and change management approach - while prioritizing patient safety and access. We partner with rural hospital leaders to shape sustainable clinical, operational and financial frameworks that enable scalable, resilient hospital at home programs, support community-based care delivery, and ensure long-term access to high-quality healthcare in rural communities. Our services include designing and building hospital at home-specific clinical operations workflows, financial analyses (pro formas), supply chain networks, staffing plans, revenue cycle operations, clinical informatics, and more, as well as training and simulation for the implementation of hospital at home at rural hospitals.
For more information, please contact Partner and Co-Founder Lisa Tripp at ltripp@tripphollander.com or 404-915-0267. Visit us online on LinkedIn or at www.tripphollander.com |
Free Webinar: August 21
Rural EHR System Selection: Do's, Don'ts, and Key Decisions
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Selecting a new EHR is one of the most significant decisions a rural hospital can make. Whether you’re transitioning from a legacy system, considering a hosted model, or exploring alignment with a larger health system, the choices made during the selection process can have long-lasting implications for governance, costs, workflows, staffing, and organizational independence.
In this educational webinar, HealthNET Consulting's EHR System Selection subject matter experts will share practical lessons learned from years of guiding hospitals like yours through EHR evaluations. Attendees will gain an objective overview of today's rural EHR landscape, including Epic Community Connect, MEDITECH Expanse MaaS, and Oracle Health CommunityWorks, while learning how to structure a system selection process that supports long-term success. The session will cover key decision drivers, common pitfalls, governance considerations, contract negotiation strategies, and implementation realities that healthcare leaders should understand before making a commitment.
Learning Outcomes: After participating in this webinar, attendees will be able to: - Identify key strategic, operational, financial, and governance factors that should guide EHR system selection decisions in rural healthcare organizations.
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Differentiate among leading rural EHR deployment models, including Epic Community Connect, MEDITECH Expanse MaaS, and Oracle Health CommunityWorks, and understand the tradeoffs between autonomy, standardization, and health system alignment.
- Understand current EHR market trends and performance data from industry sources such as KLAS and Black Book to inform future EHR planning decisions.
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Recognize common EHR selection and contracting pitfalls and apply practical strategies to evaluate vendors, negotiate protections, control long-term costs, and safeguard organizational flexibility.
This webinar is for HomeTown member hospitals only, enrollments are reviewed and approved based on membership status. This webinar will be available in live format only, no recording will be produced. Register for August 21 Session Now |
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Questions? Need Assistance? Contact us at hthtech@hometownhealthonline.com Reach us by phone at 470.655.6950 |
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