Today’s podcast features an interview with Xiomara Owens, PhD, Director of Behavioral Health Aide Training at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and Tonya Horn, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation in the Behavioral Health Program at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. They explain the flexibility of Alaska’s Behavioral Health Aide program and how it can be adapted to serve communities in other parts of the country.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/ak-behavioral-health-oct-2026

Exploring Rural Health is an RHIhub podcast.

Today’s podcast features an interview with Alycia Bayne, Associate Director for Public Health Research at the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. She shares highlights from a resource she recently helped to develop, Practical Guide to Supporting Innovation in Rural Health, published on RHIhub’s website.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/innovation-guide-sep-2026

Exploring Rural Health is an RHIhub podcast.

Today’s podcast features an interview with Kelsea O’Leary, Behavioral Health Program Manager for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She tells us about how the Recovery Is Possible program’s physicians and social workers team up to ensure continuity of care for tribal citizens, during and after incarceration. Part 3 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank finalists, with Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma’s work winning second place.

The transcript and a list of resources and organizations mentioned in the episode can be found at:

https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/podcast/choctaw-care-continuity-aug-2026

Exploring Rural Health is an RHIhub podcast.