Imagine your hospital’s entire IT operation grinding to a halt because of a snowstorm, cut fiber lines, or unstable internet connectivity. This is not a worst-case scenario for many rural health care providers; it is a regular reality. And it highlights just how fragile the digital infrastructure is in many parts of our country.

Across rural America, hospitals are losing physicians and fighting to stay open while serving communities with complex needs and limited resources. They face immense pressure: outdated infrastructure, tight budgets, minimal staff, and growing cybersecurity risks. Many lack access to broadband strong enough to support virtual care. Others are losing staff to burnout and bigger paychecks elsewhere. At the same time, patients in these communities are often forced to travel long distances for basic or specialty care, if they can access it at all.

For years, solution providers have treated these challenges as technical problems. But rural health care’s pain points go deeper. Digital transformation cannot be achieved with a one-size-fits-all toolset, especially when those tools assume high bandwidth, internal IT departments, and advanced data governance. Most rural leaders are CIO, IT director, and cybersecurity officer all in one. And they are doing it on a shoestring budget.

Too many solutions exacerbate the divide instead of offering meaningful help. They require more digital readiness than rural providers have, or they arrive as “free” pilot programs with no long-term support plan. The result is a pattern of stop-and-start initiatives that fail to address the root causes holding rural health care back.

We need a new approach, one built on partnership, not prescription.

Collaborative models are emerging as a smarter path forward because they address the deeply interconnected and real issues plaguing rural providers. One example is the Rural Health Community, a growing network of rural hospitals and health IT experts working together to share knowledge, align priorities, and codevelop scalable solutions. Rather than assuming what rural providers need, this initiative is grounded in listening, learning, focusing on the barriers hospitals actually face in implementing and sustaining digital tools.

By identifying common challenges and pooling resources, communities like this are addressing gaps in broadband, strengthening cybersecurity, and enabling virtual care in places that once seemed out of reach. These partnerships do not just introduce technology. They help ensure it works, lasts, and supports the long-term viability of rural health care.

And this is not just about digital upgrades; it is about economic lifelines.

Rural hospitals are often the largest employers in their communities. When one closes, the impact is devastating: lost jobs, reduced access to care, and a ripple effect on the local economy. Technology that helps these hospitals stay open, staff up, and expand services is good for the health care industry and America’s rural communities.

Rural health leaders know what is at stake. They have been operating under pressure for decades. But the urgency has never been greater. We are in a critical moment where rural systems either fall further behind or leap forward with the right support.

The future of rural health care cannot rest on temporary grants or isolated deployments. It depends on sustained, strategic partnerships that prioritize equity, listen to local voices, and share solutions that work in real life, not just on paper.

If we want to build resilient rural health systems, we need to invest in the people who know them best and give them the tools, trust, and time to transform. Rural communities deserve nothing less.

Jason Griffin is a health care executive.