About this episode

Tim Powers discusses the importance of advocacy and financial stewardship in rural healthcare leadership.

What happens when a hospital leader takes lessons from both the CEO and CFO seat into statewide advocacy? You get a strong advocacy voice for rural health. In this episode of The CereCore Podcast, host Phil Sobol talks with Tim Powers, Chief Financial Officer of the Idaho Hospital Association, about his 35-year journey in healthcare leadership. From turning around struggling hospitals in Idaho and Nevada to guiding 51 member hospitals today, Tim shares how advocacy, partnerships, and culture are essential to financial resiliency. He unpacks the challenges rural hospitals face from workforce shortages and labor costs to revenue cycle management and cybersecurity and explains why collaboration is the key to thriving, not just surviving. Listeners will hear stories of turnaround, mentorship, and the calling of rural healthcare leadership. In this episode: - Tim’s journey from “fix-it guy” to rural hospital CFO and CEO - How turnaround stories shaped his passion for advocacy - The value of Healthcare Business Ventures in supporting IHA members - Why Medicaid expansion, workforce culture, and cybersecurity top the financial agenda - Lessons from ransomware and EMR conversions in…

People in this episode

Host: Phil Sobol

Guest: Tim Powers

Topics covered

• rural health
• advocacy
• healthcare leadership
• financial resiliency
• workforce challenges
• collaboration

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Idaho Hospital Association

Places: Idaho, Nevada

More episodes of The CereCore Podcast

• How One Community Hospital Got MEDITECH Expanse and AI Right with Schneck's VP/CIO, Craig Rice · April 9, 2026 · 40 min
• How GoHealth's CXO Approaches Patient Experience at Scale · March 27, 2026 · 30 min
• Closing the Cyber Gap Without Hiring a Full Time CISO · February 25, 2026 · 24 min
• The Dual Perspective of a Rural CMO and CMIO · February 4, 2026 · 40 min
• A Rural CNO on Healthcare Innovation That Actually Helps Nurses · December 29, 2025 · 31 min
• Why Tech Makes Care More Human: Sir David Sloman’s Lessons from the NHS · November 17, 2025 · 40 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The CereCore Podcast podcast page.