Rural Health Investment Underscores Essential Role of CRNAs in S.C.

South Carolina is making a major new investment in rural health care — and the effort underscores an equally important reality: strengthening rural hospitals also requires strengthening the health-care workforce that keeps essential services available.

South Carolina received more than $200 million through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program for fiscal year 2026. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recently announced 227 first-year projects totaling more than $167 million, supporting facility improvements, technology, expanded community care, workforce development and other initiatives designed to improve access in rural communities.

The need is significant. Roughly one in three South Carolinians lives in a rural area, where access to health-care providers and facilities can be limited. A 2025 South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services report noted that six rural hospitals had closed in South Carolina since 2012; seven additional rural hospitals were at risk of closure.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are a critical part of the solution.

CRNAs provide anesthesia care that allows hospitals and other health-care facilities to offer surgery, obstetrical care, pain management, trauma stabilization and other essential services. Their role is particularly important outside major population centers: nationally, more than 80% of anesthesia providers in rural counties are CRNAs.

For new S.C.A.N.A. President Blake Frazier, DNAP, APRN, CRNA, the connection between workforce and access is personal. Frazier grew up in Latta, South Carolina, and has made rural health care one of the priorities of his presidency.

“Every time a rural hospital closes or reduces services, patients can be forced to travel farther for the care they need,” Frazier said. “South Carolina cannot afford to make it harder for rural hospitals to recruit providers and sustain essential services. We need to be looking at every responsible way to strengthen health care access in these communities.”

The Rural Health Transformation Program recognizes workforce development as a central part of strengthening rural care. South Carolina’s first round of awards includes nearly $7.8 million specifically for health-care workforce projects, alongside investments in facilities, community care and technology.

Those investments can help provide rural communities with better facilities and more modern technology. But maintaining access also depends on having skilled health-care professionals available to use those resources and deliver care.

For rural South Carolina, CRNAs are already an important part of that workforce — helping hospitals maintain anesthesia and surgical services and helping patients receive the care they need closer to home.

“As demand for health care continues to grow, we have to make sure South Carolina is developing the next generation of anesthesia providers,” Frazier said. “A strong workforce pipeline is essential to protecting access to anesthesia care for years to come.”