Kayla works with rural facilities and communities across the southern region of the U.S. to connect them with the resources and technical assistance offered by the RHRC through its various initiatives. In this role, Kayla supports over 30 rural emergency hospitals and multiple Appalachian based rural hospitals.
Before joining the RHRC, she served as the Flex Program Director at the Kentucky Office of Rural Health in her rural Appalachian hometown of Hazard, KY. She served in this role for over ten years and later supported the Flex Program as a Program Specialist at the National Rural Health Resource Center.
She holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of Kentucky and has a strong background in grant management, hospital operations, and healthcare improvement initiatives.