Overcoming HR Challenges in Rural Hospitals

Promoting from Within, Treating Symptoms, Can Lead to More Problems, not Fewer

WATKINSVILLE, GA / ACCESS Newswire / October 1, 2025 /Rural hospital HR departments are commonly understaffed or not supported in a way that gives them capacity to focus on critical areas like compliance, performance management and professional leadership practices. Because there is only bandwidth to address day-to-day requirements and responsibilities-and crises when they occur-it can be nearly impossible to move beyond to develop and implement new strategies that could make operations significantly better.

Lindsay Ayers is Vice President of Human Resources for Aletheia Health Partners, a strategic management firm that works primarily within rural healthcare. Through her consulting work with numerous rural hospitals, she has observed firsthand how many take similar actions in an attempt to strengthen their HR function. At first glance, these strategies often make sense. But in practice, unfortunately, many of them fail.

Treating the Symptom, Not the Cause

Because these departments are understaffed or lack certain insight, there is a tendency to treat the "symptom" versus identifying the cause, says Ayers. And because the root cause is never diagnosed, the symptom is addressed repeatedly, and no real positive change occurs. She provides an example of how this can play out.

"When we first meet with an organization, we ask what their biggest problems are. Often, we 'll hear that retention is a problem. A solution may have been to offer sign-on bonuses. While those can be part of a recruitment strategy, it 's not how you keep people," Ayers says. "You need to get at the root cause of why people are leaving. You may need to consider a core compensation and benefit structure. And bringing in knowledgeable HR leaders who understand staff engagement. This is where our team can provide additional support and experience to make tackling the root cause an attainable goal."

Waiting Until It 's Too Late

Aletheia draws on its deep industry experience and insights in rural HR operations to offer recommendations to hospitals which includes triaging issues so they are addressed in the proper order. Ayers admits implementing these recommendations can 't happen overnight and change is often hard, typically happening over the course of several years versus months. But the reward will be worth committing to the change process.

"You don 't want to wait until you have a compliance gap or are facing an audit or legal challenge to shore up your HR," Ayers explains. "We can help you get ahead of those issues, making sure policies are up to date and that hospitals are fully prepared for any review. At the same time, we can train and mentor your staff, so they gain the strengths and leadership skills they need to help lead you into the future."

When an organization works with Aletheia, they can have Alethia take on comprehensive oversight, or choose from specific services related to compliance, retention and engagement and operational efficiency. This expertise and expanded resources are available at a fraction of the cost that the hospital would spend trying to accomplish the same improvements internally.

To learn more, visit https://aletheiahp.com/services/human-resources-services/.

About Aletheia Health Partners

Aletheia Health Partners helps rural hospitals become solid and strong so they can focus on what matters most: patient care. As a community-focused hospital management company, Aletheia Health Partners provides management and operations service modules including human resources, revenue cycle management, and pharmacy services - all with the goal of creating a path for rural hospitals to remain sustainable for the communities they serve. To learn more, visit https://aletheiahp.com.

CONTACT:

706-389-9500
info@aletheiahp.com

SOURCE:Aletheia Health Partners

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