Scotland Health’s home-based care program earns AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award recognition

Scotland Health at Home began with one goal: Connect patients to treatment, no matter where they were. The program’s work led to Scotland Health Care System being recognized as a finalist for the 2026 AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award.

Scotland Health is located in Laurinburg, N.C., a town of about 15,000 people 45 minutes southwest of Fayetteville and one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in the region. The Scotland Health at Home program has reduced readmissions and emergency department visits, improved maternal care, identified and removed barriers to care, and helped residents better manage chronic conditions.

One arm of the Scotland Health team is its community health worker program, which sends community health workers into patients’ homes. “They assist with medication management, make sure patients are connected with primary care physicians and help patients access the right level of care instead of relying on the emergency department for non-emergency needs,” said Misty McMillan, executive director at the Scotland Memorial Foundation. “Overall, it’s better for patients, the hospital and the community we serve.”

The second arm is Scotland’s Community Paramedic program. “For many patients, getting to the hospital can mean a 30-minute drive, which is difficult without reliable transportation,” McMillan told the AHA. “Community paramedics can visit patients at home, provide wellness checks, educate on medications, and help them connect back to their doctor.”

When it comes to preventive care, community health workers connect with patients who are missing annual checkups or regular appointments; paramedics can support telehealth appointments happening in patients’ homes by collecting vital signs and helping patients who may not be adept at technology. When it comes to maternal health, no-show rates for appointments dropped from 20%-25% to 17%, and rates of inadequate prenatal care have also declined significantly.

The program also helps in non-medical ways. “We screen nearly all patients for social drivers of health,” said Jamie Cicali, Scotland Health’s executive director of population health. “That helps us identify non-medical barriers affecting health care utilization, such as transportation, food insecurity or housing instability.”

Both programs allow Scotland Health to tailor how it cares for its communities as much as possible to the individual. Such personalization, said Cicali, “benefits the patient, the health care system and the broader community.”

Being recognized as a finalist for the Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award has shed a welcome light not only on the program itself, but on the workers who make it happen.

“Early on, these programs received a great deal of careful evaluation when funding was requested because people wanted to avoid duplicating services,” McMillan said. “Now when we talk about this national award and the impact on patients, we remind donors and board members that they helped make it possible. That recognition reinforces the value of investing in these programs.’

“Internally, it’s also meaningful for staff members, who work incredibly hard and now feel recognized for those efforts,” said Cicali.

Overall, the programs are helping Scotland Health achieve the goals every hospital strives for: ensuring effective care reaches the community members who need it most — inside or outside the hospital walls.

The AHA Rural Hospital Excellence in Innovation Award is sponsored by Microsoft. Microsoft is committed to supporting all rural hospitals in the U.S. with affordable access to cybersecurity, cybersecurity risk assessments and innovation to address root challenges. Apply now for the 2027 award.