Ray County Hospital and Healthcare Joins the Show-Me High Value Network
Staying independent, staying local, and what it means for your care
On September 9th, 2026, Ray County Hospital and Healthcare joined 22 other independent Missouri hospitals to form the Show-Me High Value Network.
We want to be clear about what that means, because the word “network” makes people wonder whether their hospital still belongs to them.
It does. We are not being sold. We are not merging. We are not becoming part of a larger health system. Every hospital in this network stays independent, and the network itself is run by its member hospitals. Decisions about the care we provide will continue to be made locally, by Ray County Hospital and Healthcare.
What joining does is let us do some things together that no small hospital can do well alone.
What we get out of it
Better prices on what we buy. Twenty-three hospitals negotiating together for equipment and services get better terms than one hospital in Richmond does. Costs we control affect what care costs you.
Better coordination for your care. If you are treated at more than one place, the hospitals in this network are working toward sharing information so your care connects instead of starting over.
A bigger circle of people to learn from. Our staff can compare notes with people doing the same work at 22 other hospitals in towns like ours. That is hard to put a number on, and it matters a great deal.
A stronger seat at the table. Insurance companies are moving toward paying for how well care works rather than how much of it happens. Twenty-three hospitals with shared quality measures have a real voice in those conversations. One hospital our size has much less.
What does not change
- We are still owned by Ray County and governed here.
- Our board and our leaders, who live in this community, still make the decisions.
- Your insurance is unaffected. Joining the network does not change our contracts with health insurers.
- Your doctor, your nurse, your appointment, and your bill all work exactly the way they did yesterday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Twenty-three local community hospitals are launching the Show-Me High Value Network to collaborate on clinical and business initiatives to strengthen health care in rural communities across the state. Ray County Hospital and Healthcare is a founding member of this growing network.
The network’s foundation is a clinically integrated network (CIN) caring for a population of approximately 1.8 million patients. The CIN will drive the Show-Me High Value Network’s quality enhancement initiatives, expand care coordination efforts and reduce administrative burdens for providers.
No, that’s absolutely not the case. Ray County Hospital and Healthcare, like every member of the Show-Me High Value Network, remains an independent hospital that can focus on the needs of our community. The network is more like a farmers’ cooperative as it fosters collaboration and handles some tasks jointly for its members, who continue to otherwise operate independently.
Yes. Our hospital’s participation in the Show-Me High Value Network has no immediate impact on our contracts with health insurers. As the collaboration deepens among members, the network will be a strong partner with insurers on value-based insurance products that improve quality, reduce cost, and enhance patient and provider experience.
We’re committed to doing better for our patients and community, now and into the future. When we work together, we can provide better care and create efficiency through scale.
Larger health systems based in Missouri’s metro areas have a critical role in delivering care. Our goal is to increase our ability to deliver high-value care close to home, leveraging a network of independent hospitals and health systems with shared values, including independent status.
The Show-Me High Value Network helps our members gain the benefits of size and scale without giving up the ability to tailor decisions to their local communities’ needs.
We want to be the provider of choice. This isn’t a response to our performance today. It reflects our long-term goal of sustainable, high-quality care delivered locally.
Joining the Show-Me High Value Network will position us to best serve our patients and community within a dynamic health care environment.
The same way decisions are made now. Our board and hospital leaders, who live and work in our community, will continue to make those decisions. We are joining the Show-Me High Value Network to accomplish things that we cannot easily do on our own. Making decisions about health care in our community locally will remain a practice and priority.
By working together with other independent hospitals, we will pool our clinical and business know-how to ensure continued local access to high-quality care that strengthens our community. These efforts will improve care coordination, support caregivers, and promote more efficient operations.
As the collaboration deepens among members, the network will be well positioned to partner with insurers on value-based care initiatives that improve quality, reduce cost, and enhance patient and caregiver experiences.
Sustaining high-quality care in our community for the long term is great news for patients. Here are some specific benefits that patients will see from our hospital’s membership in the Show-Me High Value Network.
- Clinical initiatives through the network will enable members to benchmark their performance and find areas to further enhance clinical quality, while care coordination initiatives close care gaps and reduce unnecessary ER visits, improving overall community health. We’ll deliver better care as we explore clinical efforts against a wider peer group, and we’ll learn from our partners’ work as well as our own on our journey to deliver great care.
- Through better care coordination, we’ll identify and close clinical and nonclinical gaps, reducing unnecessary emergency care, improving health, and reducing crowds in the emergency department.
- With improved data, we’ll be able to coordinate care more efficiently for patients who need treatment at multiple locations.
- We’ll free up time for our front-line caregivers to focus more on patients rather than paperwork. This will improve patient interaction and reduce burnout, allowing the hospital to retain excellent physicians and other providers in our community.
- We’ll build our capacity to work with insurers on processes that create value for patients, insurers and the hospital.
- Through the partnership, we’ll boost our ability to control costs for equipment and contracted services by negotiating as a group. Controlling these costs helps improve affordability for patients.
Joining the Show-Me High Value Network supports stability and success for member hospitals while delivering better care to patients. Our hospital’s caregivers joined the hospital team to care for patients. In smaller communities, this often means their family, friends, and neighbors. The Show-Me High Value Network supports their work directly in health and care delivery. At the same time, it will expand our team’s network and provide them with tools to be the best caregiver or care supporter they can be.
Read the announcement
Our full news release has more detail, including comments from our CEO and our board chair and the complete list of the 23 member hospitals.
Ray County Hospital and Healthcare Awarded $1.8 Million in Rural Health Transformation Funding
Grant will fund a roof replacement and other facility improvements without using hospital operating dollars
RICHMOND, Mo. – Ray County Hospital and Healthcare has been awarded approximately $1.8 million through Missouri’s Rural Health Transformation Program to make major improvements to the hospital.
The award comes through the Rural Health Transformation Program, a federal program administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Missouri received more than $216 million for the program’s first year, and the Missouri Department of Social Services is distributing that funding to rural healthcare providers statewide. Ray County Hospital and Healthcare’s award is part of the department’s Strategic Minor Renovations Program and was one of 20 projects selected through a competitive review.
The funding will address critical facility needs ranging from roof replacement and mechanical systems to plumbing, windows, security, and patient-care spaces. These projects would be difficult for a small rural hospital to take on with normal operating resources. All of the work is grant-funded and will not come from the hospital’s operating dollars.
Together, these projects are meant to strengthen the hospital’s ability to care for patients close to home. That includes improved access, enhanced clinical capabilities, more reliable building systems, and better safety for patients and staff. It also means fewer patients needing to leave the community for care that can be provided here.
“This $1.8 million investment is tremendous news for Ray County Hospital and Healthcare and, most importantly, for the communities we serve,” said Lisa DeKezel, CEO. “It gives us an opportunity to make meaningful investments in our facility and our ability to care for patients locally through dedicated Rural Health Transformation funding—not through our operating dollars.
“Over the past year, our team has worked incredibly hard to strengthen the financial and operational foundation of the hospital, and we remain committed to the disciplined stewardship that work requires. At the same time, we have to continue preparing this hospital to meet the healthcare needs of our community for years to come. Programs like this one allow rural hospitals to do both.”
What the funding will do:
- Replace the hospital’s roof to protect the building for the long term
- Improve the air-handling systems that serve Administration and Physical Therapy and replace chilled-water coils, so essential building systems run reliably
- Complete several plumbing projects throughout the facility
- Replace windows and improve the front entrance, where parts of the building’s exterior have aged
- Add zone-lockdown doors so staff can secure specific areas of the hospital, strengthening safety and emergency preparedness
- Install new flooring in the Physical Therapy gym, where patients work on their recovery
- Improve lighting in the Recovery Room
- Add motion-activated lighting in parts of the building so it runs more efficiently
Geoff Mandala, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and Steve Minnick, Director of Facilities, helped identify the hospital’s needs and develop the application. Their firsthand understanding of what patients and staff need from the building shaped the request.
“We are incredibly grateful to the State of Missouri for its commitment to rural healthcare and to the federal Rural Health Transformation Program for making this investment possible,” DeKezel said. “We take seriously the responsibility that comes with these funds and intend to put every dollar to work in ways that strengthen local access, improve the patient experience, and support sustainable rural healthcare here in Ray County.”
About Ray County Hospital and Healthcare
Ray County Hospital and Healthcare is a county-owned critical access hospital in Richmond,Missouri, serving Ray County and surrounding communities since 1956. Licensed for 25 acute care beds and governed by a board of trustees, the hospital provides 24/7 emergency care, inpatient and transitional care, laboratory and imaging services, therapy services, and an outpatient specialty clinic where visiting specialists see patients close to home.
Still have questions?
We would rather answer it than have you wonder.
Call us at 816-470-5432
You can learn more about the network, including all 23 member hospitals, at ShowMeHVN.org.