Laurens County providers land more than $5 million in state rural health awards
September 16, 2026
Health care providers serving Laurens County are in line for more than $5 million from South Carolina’s first round of Rural Health Transformation Program awards, part of a $167.3 million statewide package announced this week by Gov. Henry McMaster.
The state awarded 228 grants through the program, which is funded entirely by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as part of a federal assistance award of just over $200 million. The money is one-time funding aimed at primary care, maternal and infant care, pediatrics and behavioral health in rural communities, with an emphasis on facility upgrades, technology and workforce development rather than ongoing operating support.
McMaster said in announcing the awards that access to quality care close to home should not depend on where a South Carolinian lives, and that the grants represent another step toward strengthening care across the state.
Seven awards designated for Laurens County
Seven of the awards are designated specifically for Laurens County, totaling $2,704,566.
Prisma Health received six awards for its Laurens County operations under the program’s facility enhancements category, ranging from $30,000 to $846,566 and totaling $1,244,566. That money will help update and upfit rural practices in Laurens County. Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital, on Highway 76 East in Clinton, is a 90-bed facility and the only hospital in the county. Its campus provides inpatient care, round-the-clock emergency services and outpatient programs including cancer, cardiac, imaging, orthopedic and wound care.
Self Regional Healthcare received a separate $1.46 million facility enhancement award for its Laurens operations, the single largest Laurens designated grant in the round.
Community paramedics bringing care into the home
Two additional Prisma Health awards list Laurens County among the counties served. A $1,094,750 grant covers Oconee, Lee and Laurens counties, and a $1,349,818 grant covers Oconee and Laurens. Both fall under a project to expand remote patient monitoring and assistive technology, and together they total $2,444,568 across the counties involved.
In Laurens County, the funding will help support an expansion of Prisma Health’s Mobile Integrated Health program. The popular program uses teams of community paramedics to provide medical care to patients in their own homes after hospital discharge. The teams provide care, monitoring and medication education, and they also serve as a bridge back to each patient’s primary care physician. Physicians can connect by telehealth as well, allowing the provider to be virtually present.
Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy also funded
Clinton figures into the round through higher education as well. The Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy received $148,920, also under the remote patient monitoring and assistive technology project.
Several other recipients operate clinics and services used by Laurens County residents. Self Regional Healthcare drew more than $19 million overall across its Lakelands Region locations, including awards in Greenwood, Newberry, Abbeville and Saluda. Carolina Health Centers, which runs practices across the Lakelands, received three facility enhancement awards totaling $443,209.
How the awards were decided
The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, designated by McMaster as the lead state agency for the program, received 712 applications by the June 1 deadline. Awards were decided through a multilevel merit review process using rules and funding limits set by CMS, and applicants were notified July 31.
Agency Director Eunice Medina said the response reflected strong interest and creative thinking about rural health, and that the funding will help turn those ideas into lasting improvements.
The grants fell under four state initiatives: Connections to Care, Wellness Within Reach, Leveling Up, and Shoring Up to Sustainability. Statewide examples cited by the governor’s office include expanded partnerships between local law enforcement and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for mobile crisis response, cybersecurity improvements at an independent rural hospital, and a specialized obstetrical surgical robot for complicated deliveries.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the program is designed to let states build locally driven answers to rural access problems and to move better care closer to where patients live.
More detail still to come
The public award list identifies recipients, dollar amounts and project categories but does not break out spending project by project. Self Regional Healthcare has not yet released specifics on how its Laurens award will be used.
Information about the program is posted on the Rural Health Transformation Program page of the state health and human services website. Questions can be directed to [email protected].
