Annual Conference Agenda
(Agenda Subject to Change)
Monday, August 24, 2026
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. 3RNET Kickoff: Meet, Mingle, Connect (Chimney Rock)
5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Early Registration/Sponsor Check-In (Foyer outside Chimney Rock) - If you arrive early, join us to meet & greet new network coordinators and mingle with colleagues, staff, board members, sponsors, and guest speakers. Refreshments available.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
8:00 – 4:30 Registration/Sponsor Check-In (Foyer outside Chimney Rock)
8:00 – 8:45 Networking Breakfast - bring your made-to-order breakfast from the Atrium in the hotel lobby to the Chimney Rock room for networking
8:00 - 8:45 Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
8:50 - 9:00 Opening Comments (Blowing Rock) - Mike Shimmens, Executive Director, 3RNET
9:00 – 9:15 Welcome To North Carolina (Blowing Rock) - Maggie Sauer, Director, DHHS Office of Rural Health
9:15 – 10:00 Keynote: Title TBD (Blowing Rock) - Mark Holmes, Director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, UNC
10:00 – 10:45 North Carolina Spotlight: Statewide Initiatives (Blowing Rock) - Andy MacCraken, Director, NC Center on the Workforce for Health; Sarah Bourland, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Secretary, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; Patrick Woodie, President & CEO, NC Rural Center
10:45 - 11:15 Networking Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
11:15 - 12:15 Immigration Updates: Policies and Insights (Blowing Rock) - Matthew Webster, Senior Immigration Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron
12:15 - 1:15 Networking Lunch (Chimney Rock)
1:15 – 1:45 Rural Health Policy Update from FORHP (Blowing Rock) - Jason Steele, Program Lead for the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
1:45 - 2:30 Workforce Partners: Update from the Sheps Graduate Medical Education Technical Assistance Center (Blowing Rock) - Emily Hawes, PharmD, BCPS, CPP, Director; Shelby Rimmler-Cohen, MPH, Associate Director
2:30 - 3:00 National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) Update: Rural Health Programs and Resources (Blowing Rock) - Tammy Norville, CEO, NOSORH
3:00 - 3:30 Networking Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
3:30 - 4:30 3RNET Program Update: New Technical Assistance Partnerships and Initiatives (Blowing Rock)
4:30 - 5:00 3RNET Awards (Blowing Rock)
5:00 - 6:30 Networking Awards Reception (Chimney Rock) - Refreshments will be provided.
Tuesday evening is free for networking or exploring the area.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
8:00 – 4:00 Registration Desk Open (Foyer outside Chimney Rock)
6:30 - 8:45 Complimentary Made-to-Order Breakfast (Atrium in Hotel Lobby)
6:30 - 8:45 Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
8:45 - 9:30 3RNET Technology & Innovation Updates - What’s New and What’s Next (Blowing Rock)
9:30 - 10:00 3RNET Member Panel: Recruitment in Motion - States Putting 3RNET to Work (Blowing Rock)
10:00 – 10:30 Networking Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
10:30 - 11:30 What PRISM Data Tells Us About Behavioral Health Clinicians in Integrated Health Settings: Practice Trends, Satisfaction, and Retention (Blowing Rock) - Don Pathman, MD, MPH, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research; Brianna Lombardi, Deputy Director for the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research; Natalie Uy, PRISM Data Analyst, 3RNET
11:30 - 12:15 3RNET Member Brainstorming Session: Leveraging RHTP for Rural Workforce Impact (Blowing Rock)
12:15 - 1:15 Networking Lunch (Chimney Rock)
1:15 – 2:00 Emerging Workforce Perspectives: Panel Discussion with Residents and Medical Students (Blowing Rock)
2:10 - 3:10 Breakout Session 1: Panel Discussion - Key Takeaways From the 2025 PracticeLink 3RNET Rural Resource Career Fair (Blowing Rock) - Kristine Morin, Director of Communications & Marketing, 3RNET; Christy Bray, Chief Customer Officer, PracticeLink; Drew Terry, Vice President Marketing, PracticeLink
2:10 - 3:10 Breakout Session 2: Immigration Exchange – Best Practices & Peer Networking (Pinehurst) - Matthew Webster, Senior Immigration Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron
3:10 – 3:30 Networking Break and Visit Sponsor Exhibit Tables (Chimney Rock)
3:30 – 4:15 Ideas to Action: Peer Networking Roundtables (Blowing Rock) - Where the conference turns into action.
- Engage in peer-to-peer exchange on workforce challenges.
- Develop one actionable strategy to bring back to participants’ home states.
- Discussion topics at each table: Immigration, Rural GME, RHTP, PRISM, New Connections
- Each table leaves with:
- One implementation idea
- One collaboration contact
- One follow-up action
4:15 – 4:45 Door Prize Drawings (Blowing Rock)
5:30 - 9:30 Off-Site Evening Event - Tobacco Road Sports Cafe Durham, located on the American Tobacco Campus, with patio views overlooking the Durham Bulls vs Norfolk Tides Minor League baseball game. (No tickets required.) Transportation will be provided.
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Bonus Half-Day: Evidence. Innovation. Action.
North Carolina in Action - A National Blueprint for Rural Workforce Success (Blowing Rock)
Hear from innovators across North Carolina who are strengthening the rural workforce pipeline — from student engagement to residency to independent practice ownership.
Featuring leaders from Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), faculty development experts, and physicians who trained in rural programs and now own their own practices, this day is designed to give you:
- Proven models you can replicate
- Honest lessons learned
- Implementation strategies you can take home
- Access to technical assistance and cross-state collaboration
If you care about recruiting providers and keeping them, Day 3 is where roadmap meets reality.
Thursday Agenda (Blowing Rock)
7:00 - 8:30 Complimentary Made-to-Order Breakfast (Hotel Lobby Atrium)
8:30 - 8:45 Opening Comments
8:45 - 9:45 Growing the Pipeline: Innovative Student & Resident Engagement
9:45 -10:45 Developing the Developers: Faculty as Workforce Catalysts
10:45 -11:05 Break
11:05 - 12:00 From Residents to Rural Owners: A Real-World Roadmap
12:00 - 12:15 Closing Comments