North Country Healthcare is gaining national attention for work rooted right here in the North Country.
This spring, North Country Healthcare’s approach to ethical decision-making in rural healthcare will be featured at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Congress, one of the largest healthcare leadership conferences in the country, and in Healthcare Executive, a national publication read by healthcare leaders across the United States.
Dr. Keith Shute of North Country Healthcare, Dr. William Nelson of Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, and Tom Mee, RN, BSN, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of North Country Healthcare, will jointly present a session titled “Growing an Effective Ethics Committee in Rural, Critical Access Hospitals.” The presentation highlights how rural healthcare systems like North Country Healthcare are leading thoughtful, values-driven decision-making despite limited resources and complex challenges.
In addition, Dr. Nelson and Tom Mee have co-authored an abstract entitled “Ethics Committees in Rural America,” which will be published in Healthcare Executive later this year. The article draws on North Country Healthcare’s experience building an ethics program that supports patients, caregivers, and leaders when difficult questions arise. “The presentation and article describing the development of an effective ethics resource for North Country Healthcare can serve as a model for rural, critical access hospital throughout the United States,” Dr. Nelson’s notes.
“For rural communities, healthcare decisions are personal. They affect neighbors, families, and entire towns,” said Tom Mee, CEO of North Country Healthcare. “Being asked to share our work nationally is recognition that rural health systems not only face complex challenges but are helping shape how healthcare is led across the country.”
North Country Healthcare established its ethics committee to provide guidance during ethically complex situations, support care teams and leaders, and ensure decisions are approached with consistency, transparency, and respect. The committee brings together clinical, administrative, legal, and community perspectives to reflect the realities of rural healthcare delivery.
While ethics infrastructure is common in large academic systems, it is less often available in rural hospitals. North Country Healthcare’s national recognition underscores that rural health systems are not only essential to their communities, but are contributing meaningful leadership and innovation at a national level.
“This recognition belongs to the North Country,” Mee added. “It reflects the professionalism, integrity, and care our staff bring to their work every day, and it reinforces that rural healthcare has an important voice in shaping the future of care.”