A patient receiving a mammogram at Rural Health Services, Inc. For more than 45 years, Rural Health Services (RHS) has provided a wide array of primary and preventive healthcare services to the population of Aiken County and surrounding areas.

ACR Accreditation for Mammography

Rural Health Services, Inc. Earns ACR Accreditation

(Aiken, SC) — Rural Health Services, Inc. has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in mammography as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Mammography is a specific type of imaging test that uses a low-dose X-ray system to examine breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, is used to aid in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women.

The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. It is awarded only to facilities meeting ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field. Image quality, personnel qualifications, adequacy of facility equipment, quality control procedures and quality assurance programs are assessed. The findings are reported to the ACR Committee on Accreditation, which subsequently provides the practice with a comprehensive report that can be used for continuous practice improvement.

The ACR, founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care. The College serves more than 37,000 diagnostic/interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of medical imaging and radiation oncology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

About Rural Health Services, Inc.

For more than 45 years, Rural Health Services (RHS) has provided a wide array of primary and preventive healthcare services to the population of Aiken County and surrounding areas.  

RHS is a private, non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). RHS offers culturally competent, comprehensive primary, preventive, and supplemental healthcare services to all people, regardless of their financial situation. For more information on Rural Health Services, please visit www.ruralhs.org. 
RHS gets HRSA funding for expansion of HIV services for the population of Aiken County and surrounding areas.

HRSA Funding to Increase HIV Initiative

Rural Health Services, Inc. Awarded HRSA Grant for HIV Service Expansion 


AIKEN, S.C. (September 17, 2021) - On September 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded over $48 million to health centers across the states to expand HIV prevention and treatment. Rural Health Services, Inc. (RHS) was the only health center in SC to be awarded over $347,000 of funding from the grant, allowing for huge advancements in treatment and prevention. Funding by this grant will increase the number of patients counseled and tested for HIV, access to PrEP, and linkage to HIV care and treatment through RHS. 

RHS proposed project will use the funds to hire an HIV Program Coordinator, PrEP Navigator Case Manager, and HIV Health Educator to deliver HIV prevention services that are integrated with primary care. Funds will also cover HIV test kits, PrEP medication assistance, RHS participation in community health events and Augusta PRIDE, staff training and professional development. 

"Rural Health Services is happy to do its part in ending the HIV epidemic,” said CEO Carolyn McClain.  

HRSA's investment is part of the ‘Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US’ initiative, which aims to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 90 percent by 2030. Like RHS, other health centers will use the funding to conduct outreach and HIV testing, expand their workforce to increase access to and use of PrEP, and connect individuals who test positive for HIV to treatment. Last year, HRSA-funded health centers provided nearly 2.5 million HIV tests to patients. Of those who tested positive for HIV for the first time, over 81 percent were successfully linked to treatment within 30 days. 

About PrEP Medication 

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is used by people without HIV who are at risk of being exposed to HIV through sexual contact or injection drug use. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and reduces the risk by 74% for injectable drugs (CDC.gov). 

About Rural Health Services, Inc.  

For more than 45 years, Rural Health Services (RHS) has provided a wide array of primary and preventive healthcare services to the population of Aiken County and surrounding areas.  

RHS is a private, non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). RHS offers culturally competent, comprehensive primary, preventive, and supplemental healthcare services to all people, regardless of their financial situation. For more information on Rural Health Services, please visit www.ruralhs.org.