Mountain West
Field Note Insights

While investments in telehealth and digital infrastructure provide essential tools for rural connectivity, these systems must be paired with aggressive regional educational pipelines to prevent critical workforce shortages and ensure sustainable operations.

For healthcare providers in the Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains, the decision to deploy a "virtual-only" or "hybrid" model is no longer a matter of technical capability; it is a matter of strategic territory. As we move through 2026, the data from the first year of the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program has made one thing clear: virtual tools are efficient for moving data, but hybrid models are superior for moving people toward recovery. The choice between t

In the wide-open spaces of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, self-reliance is more than a trait ,it’s a way of life. But when it comes to bringing the next generation into the world, our "frontier" spirit is being tested. As of 2026, nearly 60% of rural counties across the U.S. lack hospital-based obstetric services. In states like North Dakota and South Dakota, that number climbs as high as 80%. At Waller Hall Research (WHR), we understand that a "maternity desert" i