Twenty-Five Beds and No Bench
In a critical access hospital, one resignation is not a vacancy. It is a hole in the schedule that the same handful of people cover until someone else burns out. Chris Sund speaks to small and rural hospital teams about holding onto good people when you cannot compete on pay with the system ninety minutes down the road.
What Makes This Room Different
Twenty-five beds or fewer, thirty-five miles from the next hospital, and an emergency department that has to be staffed every hour of every day regardless of volume. There is no float pool and no second shift to borrow from. A nurse may cover the ED, med-surg, and swing bed in the same twelve hours. A speaker who does not understand that structure will spend the whole session solving a problem this hospital does not have.
- Everyone does several jobs, so the message has to reach every role
- The hospital is often the largest or second largest employer in the county
- Staff treat their own neighbors and see them again at the grocery store
- You cannot out-pay the regional system, and everyone in the room knows it
- Losing one person is losing a real percentage of the department
He Is Not Visiting From the City
Chris grew up in rural America and still lives and works in Nebraska. He has spoken for small and rural hospitals including Crawford County Memorial Hospital, for rural hospital associations including the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals and the Rural Health Association of Utah, and for state health care associations across the Midwest and Mountain West.
He also knows the money side. As President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare, and Nebula, he leads organizations that fill contracts in rural facilities, so he understands what a travel nurse costs a twenty-five bed hospital and what that does to a budget that has no slack in it. The talk is not about trying harder. It is about the things a small hospital can actually control, which turn out to be the things people leave over.
What Rural Hospital Leaders Say
“Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our Patient Experience Recognition Dinner. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized his presentation. His message resonated across all roles, engaging, relatable, and inspiring from start to finish.”
Where Chris Speaks in This Space
All Staff and Hospital Week
A session for the whole hospital, often repeated so nights, weekends, and the ED are not left out.
Employee Recognition Dinner
The annual night honoring staff, sized to fit around awards and dinner service.
Rural Association Conference
Keynote for a state rural health or rural hospital association annual meeting.
Leadership and Board Retreat
Sessions for administrators, department directors, and hospital boards on retention and culture.
Books, Signings, and Event Promotion
Small hospital budgets are tight, and most recognition budgets already include something for every attendee. A signed book that keeps working after the night ends does more than another branded item, and it costs less than most organizations expect at volume. Chris signs copies for the group and can personalize the message to your event.
He can also run a signing table after the keynote and promotes your event across his own channels before and after. Ask about bulk book pricing, signings, and promotion when you reach out and it can be quoted together with the keynote as one package.
Who Books This
Related: Rural Healthcare Speaker · State Healthcare Association Speaker · Employee Recognition Event Speaker · Employee Retention Speaker · Nurses Week Speaker · Patient Experience Speaker · Long-Term Care & Senior Living Speaker · Healthcare Conference Speaker
What Planners Ask
Does Chris actually understand small hospitals?
He grew up in rural America, lives in Nebraska, and leads organizations that staff rural facilities. He has spoken for rural hospitals, rural hospital associations in Texas and Utah, and state health care associations across the Midwest and Mountain West. He does not need the structure of a critical access hospital explained to him.
Can the session be repeated for other shifts?
Yes, and it usually should be. Running the session more than once so nights, weekends, and the emergency department are included is common and can be quoted as part of the same visit.
Will it work for a mixed room of clinical and non-clinical staff?
That is where it is strongest. In a small hospital the room includes dietary, housekeeping, billing, maintenance, and providers together. The message is built so everyone hears their own work in it, not just the departments with the most visible roles.
Is this affordable for a hospital our size?
Chris is based in Nebraska, which keeps travel costs low across much of the Midwest and Mountain West, and he prices with small hospital budgets in mind. Reach out with your budget and you will get a straight answer rather than a runaround.
Can we give the book to every employee?
Yes. Signed copies of You Are Capable of More can be included for the whole staff and quoted as part of the same package. Many organizations use it in place of a standard recognition gift.
Bring Chris to Your Hospital
Tell Chris about your hospital, your staff, and the year they have had. You will get a straight answer on fit, availability, budget, and book options.
Response within one business day