For more than 50 years, Hale County Hospital has been caring for our community. The hospital’s services have expanded beyond primary care to include emergency and inpatient services, home health, physical therapy, diagnostic and rehabilitation services. For many Hale County residents, especially those who are older, medically complex or underinsured, these services form a comprehensive system that the community relies on.
Hale County Hospital has developed new approaches to address complex challenges in rural healthcare.
Through Primary Care Plus, the hospital offers extended, comprehensive visits for medically complex patients who often require more time, coordinated care and ongoing support than a traditional clinic appointment can provide. This model prioritizes relationship-based, whole-person care, which helps patients better manage chronic illness while reducing barriers to high-quality healthcare.
The hospital’s partnership with Project Horseshoe Farm through the Hospital Fellows track supports patients during their stay as they transition home by introducing them to the Health Partner Program.
Project Horseshoe Farm Fellows currently provide sustained social support to approximately 120 older, socially isolated and medically vulnerable individuals, including many living with multiple chronic conditions or mental illness, through regular home visits and encouraging healthy living.
The hospital also plans to establish a community garden where patients and hospital staff can work together to grow fresh produce. The harvest will be incorporated into hospital meals, with additional produce available for patients to take home.
Together, these initiatives strengthen continuity of care, build stronger community connections and improve health outcomes by addressing both patients’ medical and social needs.
To foster a culture of neighbors caring for neighbors, the hospital is investing in future healthcare leaders by creating opportunities for local students to return to Hale County and serve the communities that raised them.
In partnership with Greensboro High School and other community organizations, the hospital helped develop the CLIMB Academy, which provides local high school students with hands-on healthcare experiences, mentorships, leadership development and longitudinal service learning opportunities.
By inspiring students to pursue careers in healthcare with an emphasis on serving their own communities, the program strengthens the future rural healthcare workforce.
The CLIMB model has also been successfully replicated in Perry County as well as Pomona, California.
As these programs continue to grow, Hale County Hospital serves as a model for how rural hospitals can strengthen healthcare by forging strong community ties and responding to the needs of those who are medically vulnerable.
