The Scotland Health Care System was awarded a $144,000 grant through the city of Laurinburg by Rural Health Care Initiative for construction projects at Scotland Memorial Hospital.

City Manager Ed Burchins said the matching grant was awarded to the city by the Rural Center.

Pam Hudson, the hospital's grant writer, said the hospital has big plans for the money.

"This proposal is a multi-faceted program of renovations that will affect the future growth of our healthcare system and move us forward to meet the current and ever changing needs of the communities we serve," Hudson said. "It includes the renovation of a brick warehouse to accommodate new education and training space and the development and installation of a new cardiovascular service line.

The new line is expected to serve patients more quickly and with less need to leave Laurinburg, she said.

The funds will also be used to add a second MRI and an additional Ultrasound machine.

Hudson said the new equipment should decrease the wait time for doctors who need these results and for patient diagnosis. The grant will also replace the mobile trailers that currently house the hospital's overflow Information Systems and Accounting departments with a single new building.

"(It is ) designed with the necessary IS configurations and additional office space to meet our growing infrastructure will position us to receive maximum benefit from these two vital hospital resources," she said.

Hudson said Scotland is a Tier 1 county, a designation setting it among the poorest counties in the state. Scotland County has the second highest unemployment rate in the state at 16.6 percent and the second highest poverty rate with 28.9 percent of residents living at or below the poverty line.

That designation helped secure the grant, Hudson said.

"While we continue to be one of the main economic engines driving our county, our ability to recruit and retain staff and physicians, as well as provide the necessary level of care to serve our patient population, is difficult," she said. "With the loss of thousands of regional jobs the number of uninsured patients is growing and the economic picture for this community is bleak. The funds received from the NC Rural Center will help our hospital’s economic forecast with the addition of the above referenced services and the addition of 12 new employed positions in Scotland Health Care System."