Tri-Area Earns Rural Health Best Practices Award
Virginia's Rural Health Association recognized Tri-Area Community Health's regional school-based health program with its 2026 award.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Healthy Food
Virginia's Rural Health Association named Tri-Area Community Health a recipient of its 2026 Best Practices in Rural Health Award. The honor recognizes effective, innovative approaches to improving health in rural communities.
Why it matters
The award highlights a school-based model that brings medical and behavioral health care to students and staff across several rural localities. It shows how regional partnerships and telehealth can expand access where services are limited.
During the 2025-2026 school year, the program completed 1,996 medical encounters, more than 270 sports physicals and 2,143 behavioral health counseling encounters across 31 schools. The figures are program-reported totals, and the source does not provide outcome measures or year-over-year comparisons.
The players
Tri-Area Community Health
A community health organization that developed and runs the regional school-based health program serving rural Southwest Virginia.
Virginia's Rural Health Association
The state association that presents the Best Practices in Rural Health Award to organizations improving rural health care.
The details
The program combines on-site medical and behavioral health services, prevention and early intervention, telehealth and care coordination. It serves students and school employees at 31 schools in Carroll County, Galax City, Grayson County, Floyd County and Patrick County, and was developed over three years.
Timeline
November 18: Tri-Area Community Health is to be honored at the association's awards luncheon.
2025-2026 school year: The program completed its medical, sports physical and counseling encounters.
Health Landscape
The honor places Tri-Area's school-based model among the rural health approaches Virginia's Rural Health Association has chosen to showcase. It reflects a broader state effort to deliver medical and behavioral care through schools where rural residents have fewer nearby clinics.
Students and school staff at the participating schools in Carroll County, Galax City, Grayson County, Floyd County and Patrick County can access on-site medical, sports physical and counseling services through the program. Families in these localities may use the school-based services without traveling to a distant clinic.
The takeaway
Rural communities can expand care by bringing medical and counseling services directly into schools, reducing the travel barriers that often limit access. Recognition programs like this one help spread models that other regions can adapt.
Further reading
Explore more Healthy Food coverage for Virginia readers.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Franklin News Post.
