The Challenges of Rural Healthcare IT
People - One of challenges for many rural organizations is finding and keeping people with certain talents. In the IT industry, 60% of workers were fully remote in 2022, this is an increase from 45% in 2019. In addition, recent surveys suggest that over 1/3 of current IT professionals would leave their non-remote positions for fully remote work. For rural entities with limited resources, the financial pressure of keeping IT resources, who now have more options, gets greater every day.
Availability - Even if a rural hospital has a full complement of IT staff, these individuals' availability is is often much less than the hospital's 7/24/365 needs. In addition, the range of IT skills needed, both from a strategic and operational perspective, can also be in short supply.
Capability - For many aspects of healthcare, the IT systems and tools available to address these needs have become more complex and cloud-focused. Burdened by limited funds and limited staff, many rural organization's are falling behind in IT at the same time that IT is growing in importance to their staff and their patients. Add the increased security risks that come with these changes, rural healthcare organizations have much to contemplate and balance in this new environment.
Funding - All the challenges above come with more or new costs in a time when budgets are already strained. While there are options for assistance via federal or state programs, efforts to navigate the challenging paths to these sources can deter even the most committed.

The Elevate Way
Elevate has developed and deployed a services platform of people, processes, and technologies to address the challenges of rural healthcare based on the following principles.
IT Function - We must provide a complete IT function that is not reliant on a person or specific people. Our platform must address ALL aspect of IT - strategic, operational, and financial.
Resources - We need to provide both breadth and depth to the organization's IT staff, so IT is covered all the time and in a timely fashion.
Community - In addition to serving our clients, our efforts must also focus on enhancing IT for the entire rural healthcare community.
Elevate's Services & Solutions
Elevate's technology services platform includes people, processes, and technologies for a complete IT experience that enhances our clients' IT outcomes and reduces risks - both internal and external.

Strategic Services Director

Engineering Resources

Help Desk

Security & Compliance

Enterprise Tools
Elevate & CHA's Broadband Services
As a CHA Premier Partner, Elevate has the unique vantage point in working closely (litterly in same office) with CHA’s Broadband Services Team and it’s member consortium to help rural hospitals and clinics maximize their opportunties to participate in the USAC’s Heathcare Connect Fund.

Elevate & Broadband Services offer consortium members an integrated partnership
- Focused efforts on maximizing network related capital expenditures. Every project reviewed for potential subsidy reimbursement.
- Aggregation of monthly network managed services expenses to capture ALL eligible reimbursements. ONLY AVAILABLE TO BROADBAND SERVICES CLIENTS.
- Coordinated communication and process engagement to insure all opportunties are managed properly and addressed timely.