Texas Rural Hospital Officers Academy is designed to strengthen the financial and operational leadership of rural hospital administrators through more than 100 hours of specialized annual training. It focuses on critical skills such as healthcare finance, regulatory compliance, revenue optimization, operations, and leadership development.
Summer 2026
Focus groups, interviews, and surveys activities
Fall 2026
Findings presented to the advisory committee to guide curriculum design
Spring 2027
RHOA launches with 100+ hours of statefunded, in-person executive education delivered in West Texas
Executive Director
Dr. Melinda Villagran
Research Associate
Lauren Lee
Research Associate
Dr. Elizabeth Ekren
Rural health care leaders show up every day in some of the country's most demanding settings, keeping their communities strong. This academy will provide them with customized professional development, continuing education, and technical training to support that work.
THRC, Executive Director
Dr. Melinda Villagran