In order to have a comprehensive placemaking strategy, external partnerships are critical. But sometimes finding strong partnerships in small, rural communities has unique challenges. In this session, we will hear from Allen Smart, CEO of PhilanthropywoRx, and Pat Schou, the Executive Director of Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, on the ways that communities can collaborate with philanthropic providers and healthcare networks.

PhilanthropywoRx is a national consulting practice founded to bridge the interests of rural serving funders, nonprofits and rural communities. He is a former leader of rural grantmaking foundations in Louisiana and North Carolina and regularly speaks and writes for a national audience about how funders should think about their rural communities as key places for innovation and engagement. He lived in very rural Louisiana for almost a decade and his family has lived for 150 years in the most northern part of the state of Maine.

Learn more about PhilanthropywoRx: https://philanthropyworx.com/


Pat Schou, FACHE, is the Executive Director of the Illinois (IL) Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN), the first statewide critical access hospital (CAH) network established in 2003. ICAHN is comprised of 57 CAH and rural hospitals, which is providing a number of hospital support services and educational programs, as well as managing the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant, Small Hospital Improvement Program and several other grant programs on behalf of the IL Department of Public Health and other organizations.

In addition, Pat is the Executive Director of the IL Rural Community Care Organization (IRCCO), which is a statewide rural accountable care organization comprised of 25 critical access and rural hospitals. Pat has more than 35 years of clinical and rural hospital administrative experience and currently serves as secretary and will be presidentelect in 2019 for the National Rural Health Association. She was awarded the Calico Rural Leadership Award by the National Rural Research Center in 2013, Rural Hero Award by the University of IL Rural Medical Education in 2016 and received the National Rural Health Association’s President Award in April 2015. Pat serves on the Board for the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, National Rural Resource Center Board and Partners for Connected IL Board. She is also a fellow member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and is a national speaker and facilitator.


This presentation was shared at the May 2324, 2022 Placemaking in Small and Rural Communities Online Conference. This conference was a cohosted by CEDIK at the University of Kentucky and USDA Rural Development.

Explore the online Rural America Placemaking Toolkit: www.ruralplacemaking.com

Learn more about CEDIK at the University of Kentucky: https://cedik.ca.uky.edu

Learn more about USDA Rural Development: https://www.rd.usda.gov/