"The difference between us was geography." Ari opens with the story that started her career — a summer working in a Mexican orphanage, two kids with the same illness, and two very different outcomes — and why that same line runs right through Oregon, between getting sick in Portland and getting sick in Prairie City.

Then: what this show is, why it's starting now, and what you get every week in twenty-something minutes — the news that matters for rural health in Oregon, what Ari's seeing on the road, and her honest take.

Why now? A year ago Congress passed the biggest changes to Medicaid in a generation — and at the same time, Oregon is receiving nearly $200 million this year, potentially $1 billion over five years, through the new federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Money going out, money coming in, all with deadlines. The next three years will reshape rural healthcare in this state one way or the other.

Follow State of Rural wherever you're listening, and send this episode to one person who works in or cares about rural healthcare. Want the links and sources from each episode? Email ari@powellstrategygroup.com to join the weekly rundown.

The views on this show are Ari's alone and don't represent the Oregon Health Authority, OHSU, the Oregon Office of Rural Health, or CMS.