Rural Health Leadership Radio

Oral health has become an increasingly relevant topic in whole-body health care. While oral healthcare services can often be difficult to obtain in rural communities, one CEO is taking innovative steps to overcome that barrier. Today we are talking with Dr. Lesley Ogden a physician and CEO of Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Pacific Communities Hospital in Lincoln City, Oregon. Dr. Ogden will discuss her successes in implementing oral care into emergency medicine and her desires for the future of rural healthcare.  “They can also teach us, especially on the inpatient side, how to better take care of oral health.” -Dr. Lesley Ogden Dr. Lesley Ogden serves as Chief Executive Officer for the two Samaritan critical access hospitals in Lincoln County, located on the central Oregon coast. Before taking this top position, she served as Chief Operations Officer at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City and as interim CEO at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport. Also, she worked clinically a