2024 Rural Hospital Leadership Team Award Winner and Finalists

Winner: Columbia Memorial Hospital, Astoria, Ore.

Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) provides a broad range of specialty services to a population of more than 41,000, in addition to providing care for some of the over 125,000 tourists visiting Oregon’s North Coast annually. In 2010, CMH established a clinical collaboration with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to enhance access to specialty care within the community. In 2017, the CMH-OHSU Knight Cancer Collaborative, a state-of-the-art cancer treatment center, opened in Astoria, saving local patients more than 80,000 miles and 1,600 hours of drive time each year. CMH recently broke ground on a 180,000-square-foot hospital expansion, which will expand hospital service lines, attract new providers and provide the latest technology to address community health needs. The new facility is being constructed with disaster resiliency in mind, including a Tsunami Vertical Evacuation Refuge Structure to offer a safe evacuation space to community members and caregivers, as well as a rooftop helipad and emergency operations center.

Finalists

Atrium Health Lincoln, Lincolnton, N.C.

Atrium Health Lincoln’s (AHL) innovative use of telemedicine brings across-the-spectrum care to underserved communities through virtual health programs. The school-based virtual therapy program serves over 2,000 students and facilitated approximately 18,000 therapy visits in 2023, resulting in over 30% improvement in depressive and anxiety symptoms among participants. Leveraging a virtual platform for care creates increased accessibility resulting in a 10% increase in family therapy engagement. The program has since expanded beyond Lincoln County and now operates in 11 counties and 204 schools, making it the largest school-based virtual therapy program in the Southeast.

Schneck Medical Center, Seymour, Ind.

Schneck Medical Center (SMC) is the only hospital facility in rural Jackson County, which has a high rate of chronic conditions and poverty, with 31% of the adult population living below 200% of the federal poverty level. To address these factors, SMC is the backbone organization for the Healthy Jackson County coalition, highlighting the impact of collaboration in the reduction of chronic disease. SMC also spearheads and supports programs fighting food insecurity; addressing the specific needs of the area’s Latino population; and bringing care to those with mental health and substance use disorders.

Summit Pacific Medical Center, Elma, Wash.

Summit Pacific Medical Center (SPMC) is a critical access hospital serving Grays Harbor County and has a bold vision of building the healthiest community in the country. SPMC is being recognized for its innovative approach to addressing the region’s significant health challenges, including high rates of chronic disease, economic hardship and poor health factors. Through its Low Barrier Behavioral and Primary Care Clinic, SPMC provides integrated behavioral health, medication-assisted treatment and walk-in services to underserved populations facing barriers to care. Additionally, the hospital’s newly accredited Rural Family Medicine Residency Program has added more than 3,000 patient visits each year.

This year’s honorees were recognized at the AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference, February 23-26, 2025, in San Antonio.

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