CCHS Brings Columbia County’s Healthcare Voice to Washington, D.C.
For Kim Emery, PA-C, rural healthcare is not just something discussed in policy meetings. It is part of the work she sees every day at Columbia County Health System.
As Director of Rural Population Health Strategy and Outreach for CCHS, Kim’s work is connected to the people who live here: our neighbors, our families, our patients, and the community members who count on having care close to home.
That local perspective traveled with Kim to Washington, D.C. on June 11, when she attended the National Association of Rural Health Clinics’ 2026 Policy Summit.
The summit brought together more than 60 Rural Health Clinic advocates from across the country. According to NARHC, those advocates met with more than 100 Congressional offices in a single day, bringing the voices of rural clinics, patients, and communities directly to policymakers.
Kim attended as part of CCHS’s ongoing effort to make sure rural communities like Columbia County are included in conversations about the future of healthcare. For small communities, decisions made far from home can still have a local impact. They can affect how clinics are reimbursed, how telehealth services are supported, how much administrative burden rural providers face, and how federal resources reach rural healthcare systems.
Kim was joined by two fellow Washington rural health advocates: Missy Dubuque, Secretary of the Rural Health Clinic Association of Washington, and Brad Becker, MHA, FHFMA, the association’s Vice President and Senior Director of Revenue Cycle at Mason Health. Together, they met with U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse and U.S. Senator Patty Murray to discuss the needs of Rural Health Clinics and the communities they serve.
The advocacy work also extended beyond Columbia County. Kim and the group spoke with staff for Rep. Larson and Rep. Randall, whose districts include rural communities in western Washington. Those conversations were another opportunity to share the needs of Rural Health Clinics across the state and show that rural healthcare challenges are not limited to one county or one region.
The work is continuing after the trip as well. Because Rep. Baumgarten and his staff were unavailable during the summit, Kim is scheduled to meet with a staff member by Zoom to continue sharing the Rural Health Clinic perspective and keep the conversation moving forward.
The NARHC Policy Summit focused on four key priorities affecting Rural Health Clinics: Medicare Advantage reimbursement, Medicare telehealth reimbursement parity, Rural Health Clinic burden reduction initiatives, and the Rural Health Transformation Program and other government resources that support rural healthcare.
Those topics can sound complicated, but at the heart of them is something simple: making sure rural communities are not forgotten.
For Columbia County, healthcare access is local. It is the clinic visit, the follow-up appointment, the provider-patient relationship, and the ability to receive care from people who understand the community they serve. Protecting rural healthcare means speaking up before decisions are made, sharing what rural communities are experiencing, and helping policymakers understand why these issues matter outside of large cities.
NARHC reported that many advocates left Washington encouraged by the engagement they received from congressional offices, and that numerous lawmakers and offices expressed interest in visiting Rural Health Clinics during upcoming in-district work periods. Those visits would give policymakers the opportunity to see firsthand the role Rural Health Clinics play in the communities they serve.
For CCHS, that kind of continued conversation matters. Advocacy may happen in Washington, D.C., but the reason for it is here at home.
CCHS’s participation in the summit is one example of the work happening beyond exam rooms and clinic walls to support local healthcare. It reflects a commitment to staying engaged, building relationships, and helping ensure that rural healthcare remains part of the national conversation.
CCHS is proud to have Kim Emery, PA-C, helping bring Columbia County’s healthcare voice to the national level and representing the patients, providers, and community we serve.
Sean Russell
Director of Communications
Columbia County Health System
Photo: Courtesy of NARHC
