CRHL Alumni Spotlight: Jackie Reviel

Jackie Reviel, CEO of Allen Parish Community Healthcare and recent recipient of the Louisiana Rural Health Association's 2025 Rural Professional of the Year award, has dedicated her entire career to healthcare. She began her career as a nurse and then advanced into leadership, serving as Director of Nursing, Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Clinical Officer, and finally stepping into her current role as CEO. While she didn’t originally envision this path, her love for caring for people, paired with a passion for community education and staff development, made for a natural progression into leadership. Jackie shared her favorite part of the job is “growing people” and helping them “find their passion in the healthcare field.”

Jackie was a member of the inaugural cohort of NRHA’s Rural Hospital CEO Certification Program and shared the significant impact it had on her leadership journey. Coming from a nursing background, she found the program’s learning content, structure, and networking opportunities to be incredibly valuable. While Jackie was in the program, Allen Parish was getting ready to build a new hospital and she shared that the financial building block, especially the cost report module, was instrumental. She also highlighted the Program’s networking opportunities, particularly the breakout sessions and the relationship she formed with her mentor.

Following her experience in the Program, Jackie has encouraged and supported her staff to participate in NRHA’s Rural Hospital CNO and CFO Certification Programs. She emphasized how valuable it is that the learning modules are taught by “real-world experts who are doing the work,” especially given how quickly healthcare changes.

In addition to NRHA’s Certification Programs, Allen Parish Community Healthcare is currently in part two of CRHL’s Cultural Transformation Program. Jackie shared that she believes “culture is crucial,” and the Program has strengthened a culture centered on customer service, patients, staff, and community. She expressed confidence that this culture can endure any changes and said that this Program is developing the “leaders of the future,” which she thinks is vital to the organization’s long-term success.

When asked to reflect on lessons learned and success stories, Jackie shared two. For a lesson learned, she shared the importance of “practicing the pause,” and practicing patience. For a success story, Jackie noted that she is grateful for many wins, but one standout is “The Phlebotomy Academy of Allen Parish Community Healthcare.” Seeing high turnover among phlebotomists, her lab director developed and launched the program, which has graduated more than 100 phlebotomists and helped reduce turnover at both their facility and other hospitals in Louisiana.

When asked to share a piece of leadership advice, Jackie emphasized the importance of taking time for oneself. She encouraged CEOs, and anyone in a leadership role, to prioritize their own well-being. She shared “it’s an honor to work in rural America, and these hospitals need good leaders,” which begins with leaders caring for their own mental and physical health first.