The Challenge
Rural hospitals are navigating rising costs, workforce shortages, reimbursement pressures and increasing regulatory demands, all while communities continue to rely on them for essential care.
Blue Mountain Hospital District engaged Quinn Thomas to strengthen its communications, build trust with employees and the community, and better explain how the organization is responding to those pressures while protecting services and planning for the future.
A key challenge was reducing communication gaps and misinformation by creating more consistent, proactive channels for both internal and external audiences.
The Strategy
We built a communications approach centered on transparency, consistency and trusted local voices.
Internally, the priority was making sure employees heard important information directly from leadership before it reached the public. Externally, we focused on helping the community understand not only what BMHD was doing, but why—connecting local decisions to the broader realities facing rural healthcare.
The strategy combines executive communications, short-form video, social media, earned media and stakeholder outreach to create a steady flow of information across audiences.
My Contribution
I manage the account day to day and serve as the primary communications partner for BMHD. I lead client meetings, manage priorities and deliverables, develop communications strategy and provide ongoing counsel to hospital leadership.
My work spans executive messaging, media strategy, content planning, stakeholder communications and coordination with internal and external partners. I also help turn complex healthcare, policy and operational issues into clear messages for employees, patients and the broader community.
The Work
Executive + Stakeholder Communications
Built a more consistent communications cadence across internal and external audiences, including bi-weekly CEO updates for employees, a monthly News & Events blog for the community, a stakeholder/electeds newsletter for policymakers, and ongoing social media communications.
The goal was to ensure employees received important information first while keeping external messaging consistent and reducing gaps that could lead to rumors or misinformation.
Video + Content Strategy
Made short-form video a core communications tool for BMHD, using providers, nurses and community partners to explain healthcare topics, announce services and share updates in a more personal and accessible format.
The content also helps build credibility by putting recognizable local faces at the center of BMHD’s messaging, while extending organic reach beyond traditional social posts.
Thought Leadership + Executive Positioning
Developed media opportunities around both BMHD initiatives and the broader challenges facing rural healthcare.
I help position BMHD leadership as a resource on issues including reimbursement pressures, workforce shortages, maternal care access, federal healthcare policy and rural hospital sustainability.
Rather than treating each announcement as a standalone news item, we connect local developments to larger conversations about preserving healthcare access in rural Oregon.
