St. Charles business owner to host Rural Matters

Michelle Rathman, nationally known rural health and community engagement strategist, speaker and writer, is the new host of Rural Matters podcast, effective Sept. 1.

Her debut episode will release on Sept. 10 and feature guest Alan Morgan, president of the National Rural Health Association.

In 1989, Rathman founded St. Charles-based Impact! Communications Inc., an award-winning health care advisory firm that guides rural hospitals through transition, crisis and growth, helping them to establish more meaningful community stakeholder engagement.

While she has served large health systems, her passion is rural, driven by her Minnesota farming family roots. Since 2005, Michelle has worked with Critical Access Hospitals across the United States, including producing a short documentary intended to explain the vital role these essential health facilities play in rural communities and economies. Additionally, Rathman and her team are collaborators with the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, helping them to transform annual National Rural Health Day into a sustainable movement. In May of 2018, National Rural Health Day was awarded Outstanding Rural Health Program of the Year by the National Rural Health Association.

Rathman replaces Mara Casey Tieken who has been a host and an invaluable contributor to Rural Matters, helping the program become the leading podcast in the country focused on expanding the dialogue among stakeholders in the areas of education, health and business in rural communities.

Since launching in September 2017, the podcast has reached nearly 5,000 downloads, and has attracted national sponsors such as the American Association of School Administrators (The School Superintendents Association) and the National Rural Education Association, along with marketing partners that include the National Rural Education Association; Center for Rural Affairs; Ohio Small and Rural Collaborative; Foundation for Rural Service; NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association; Harvard Graduate School of Education Rural Educators Alliance; Community Hospital Corporation; and Journal of Research in Rural Education. Rural Matters is available on iTunes. Google Play, and Stitcher.