118. Breaking Silos & Building Solutions: Insights from the Louisiana Rural Health Conference Artwork

The Stepping In It Podcast with Renee Schulte & Jason Haglund

The Stepping In It Podcast is a weekly discussion of the latest news and trends in behavioral health policy development and practice. Each episode features interviews with experts from across the field, including policymakers, clinicians, researchers, and advocates. The podcast provides listeners with practical tips and resources for improving the quality and access to behavioral health care.

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The Stepping In It Podcast with Renee Schulte & Jason Haglund

118. Breaking Silos & Building Solutions: Insights from the Louisiana Rural Health Conference

December 02, 2025 • Renee Schulte

In this episode, we take you inside the Louisiana Rural Health Conference, where Renee and Jason delivered the morning keynote focused on the continuum of care and the persistent gaps between high-level inpatient treatment and traditional outpatient services. From powerful conversations about silos, workforce shortages, jail data, and telemedicine reimbursement to unexpected innovations—like a futuristic real-time consultation headset—you’ll hear what rural providers are facing and what opportunities are emerging. This episode captures the pulse of rural health challenges and showcases the impact of convening as a tool for system transformation.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Why the continuum of care remains fragmented—and how convening breaks down silos.
How Louisiana’s jail and competency data highlight gaps in crisis and behavioral health systems.
The real challenges providers face around telemedicine reimbursement.
Insights into workforce development issues, especially in corrections and re-entry.
How innovative technology could shape the future of rural medicine.
What happened behind the scenes after the keynote, including key follow-up conversations and policy opportunities.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:09 – Introduction & Whiny Farmer Intro

00:01:52 – Keynote Overview & The Continuum of Care Gap

00:05:44 – Feedback & The Power of Convening

00:08:27 – Louisiana Jail Data & Competency Concerns

00:11:56 – Telemedicine Reimbursement Challenges

00:14:22 – ED Boarding: Behavioral Health vs. Elderly Needs

00:16:48 – The Future-Tech Headset for Real-Time Clinical Support

00:19:31 – Workforce Development & Corrections Medical

00:22:40 – Telemedicine Policy & Legislative Solutions

00:25:12 – Closing Reflections from the Conference

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