Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Building Sustainable Rural Health Care at Newman Memorial Hospital with Tom Vasko
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Feb 18, 2026 Tom Vasko, CEO of Newman Memorial Hospital, leads a rural health system focused on community-first care. He talks workforce sustainability, creative retention (daycare, benefits) and building pipelines. He outlines telehealth expansion, regional clinical partnerships and plans to scale quality while keeping care local.
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Mission + Culture Drives Rural Performance
- Newman Memorial aligns people, culture, and strategy to drive performance and community trust.
- Combining mission, innovation, and operational discipline delivers compassionate, sustainable care.
Prioritize Retention With Tangible Benefits
- Invest in retention through culture, leadership development, and concrete benefits to keep your workforce.
- Offer novel perks like free employee lunches, on-campus daycare, Medivac coverage, and 401k contributions.
Telehealth As Core Rural Infrastructure
- Treat telehealth as permanent infrastructure, not a pilot, to bring specialty care to rural communities.
- Partner with larger systems to extend ICU and surgical expertise while keeping patients local.