Wade Swenson

12/30/2025

Just wrapped up a visit to the beautiful campus at Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The facilities are state-of-the-art, and the vibrant energy is truly motivating. I've been thoroughly impressed by the caliber of medical students here at TCU. It's been a privilege to collaborate with talented individuals like Gillian Northrup, Andrew Armstrong, Sahil Prakash, Sean Kelso, and Brooke Gully—their dedication and insights are exceptional.

12/22/2025

Happy to share that I've started my tenure as President of the American College of Healthcare Executives of Minnesota! It's an honor to lead this dynamic group dedicated to advancing healthcare leadership.

For the year ahead, I'm prioritizing:
1) Building stronger ties with clinician leaders—including rural healthcare leaders. Their firsthand knowledge of patient care, health systems, and patient needs is crucial for driving positive change.

2) Increasing engagement with students at Minnesota's colleges and universities. As the next generation of healthcare pros, their perspectives will help mold a brighter future!

Excited to hear from you—whether you're a provider, student, or fellow leader. Let's make an impact together!

12/18/2025

The ACHE MN event at CentraCare South Point on December 11th focused on clinician leadership.

I joined Dr. Ulrika Wigert and Bryan Lydick—dyad partners and Vice Presidents of Regional Markets at CentraCare—as panelists, with Douglas Hanson moderating our talk on "Strategies to Create Meaningful Executive Alignment with Physicians and Organizational Financial Goals."

We dove into how the dyad model effectively aligns strengths to build dynamic leadership teams. Clinician involvement in healthcare leadership is key—it bridges clinical realities with financial strategies, fostering collaboration, innovation, and resilience.

12/16/2025

Excited to share our second editorial on rural cancer care delivery in JCO Oncology Practice – "Putting Care Into Rural Cancer." Thank you to my co-author, Jack Hensold, MD, for his outstanding collaboration and dedication to this important topic! We describe promising solutions such as telehealth, team-based models, and the innovative CORE (Clinical Oncology Rural Experience) initiative in Minnesota. This program is set to inspire and train the next generation of oncologists in rural settings.
Read the editorial: https://loom.ly/kItJwvA

12/06/2025

A recent NEJM Perspective: "From Bandwidth to Bedside — Bringing AI-Enabled Care to Rural America" by Dr. Angelo Volandes et al., published Nov 29, 2025.

Key takeaway: While AI holds promise for bridging healthcare gaps in rural areas, its success depends on addressing technological and social inequities. Simply deploying AI without considering the human element and infrastructure needs could exacerbate disparities rather than resolve them.

Read more: https://loom.ly/lpAAYjc

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being positioned as a tool for transforming rural care delivery, but it must be integrated into the social support network that sustains patients in their ho...

12/04/2025

I'm happy to share our article, "Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Multidisciplinary Lung Cancer Care," in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. We dive into the barriers rural patients face in lung cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment, and highlight game-changing innovations like mobile CT units and telehealth. Grateful for my incredible co-authors!

12/02/2025

🌟 Shoutout to Ingrid Jacobson, MPH! 🌟
As Director or Research at the Rural Cancer Institute, Ingrid impressed us with an entertaining and informative summary of our research projects, data sources, and authorship practices. 📊
We're fortunate to have this dedicated rural health leader guiding our efforts!

11/23/2025

Thanksgiving break

11/20/2025

Had a great time at the 2025 Rural Health Voice Conference, presented by the Virginia Rural Health Association! I presented on rural cancer care delivery, highlighting the Rural Oncology Home model, Lakewood Health System, and the Rural Cancer Institute.

One of the best parts? Meeting Bryan Price face-to-face for the first time! We were both fellows at the National Rural Health Association during COVID and worked together (along with Elizabeth Ruen) on a policy paper titled "Structural Factors that Impact Rural Life Expectancy."

Grateful for the engaging discussions and connections made.

11/18/2025

Proud to announce our publication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute! Stemming from the Mayo Clinic Health System's "2024 Transforming Community and Rural Healthcare" conference, our panel explored "Redefining Rurality: Adopting an Identity-Based and Community-Engaged Approach to Defining Rural Cancer Disparities." This manuscript highlights the shortcomings of traditional rural definitions and calls for integrating community-based participatory research (CBPR), self-identification, and social determinants of health (SDOH) to better address cancer disparities.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaf329