SARCOA and Community Care Solutions Earn Double Recognition in Federal Health at Home Challenge

Dothan-based network wins as its own team alongside Southeast Health partners — and as a member of the winning eight-hub national consortium expanding in-home and community care for older adults on Medicare and Medicaid

DOTHAN, Ala., Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SARCOA and Community Care Solutions (CCS) have earned rare double recognition in the federal Health at Home Challenge, a national competition run by the Administration for Community Living within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Community Care Solutions / SARCOA team — serving 18 counties across southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle in partnership with Statera Health and the Southeast Health Accountable Care Organization — was named one of ten Phase 1 winners nationwide.

SARCOA / CCS was also recognized as a Member Community Care Hub of a second winning team: the National Consortium of Community Care Hubs for Health at Home, a network of eight community care hubs spanning eight states, led by the Oregon Wellness Network with physician-owned CCH Medical Group as its healthcare partner. SARCOA / CCS anchors the consortium's Alabama and Florida Panhandle market.

The Challenge is designed to help older adults and people with disabilities who are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid stay healthy and independent at home — reducing hospital stays and lowering the total cost of care. Winning teams were chosen for their ability to deliver navigation, care coordination, care transitions, evidence-based health promotion programs such as fall prevention, and nutrition services at large scale.

What This Means for the Wiregrass and the Panhandle

For residents of southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, the wins accelerate a model SARCOA and Community Care Solutions have been building across their 18-county service area: a trusted network of community-based organizations connected directly to hospitals, physicians, and health plans. Building on established partnerships including the Southeast Health Accountable Care Organization, Statera Health, and payer relationships including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, older adults across the region will see expanded help getting home safely after a hospital or nursing facility stay, care plans supported by nurses and community health workers, evidence-based fall prevention classes in their communities, and home-delivered nutrition support — in both rural and urban communities across the two-state region. The Health At Home awards will facilitate a planned expansion into 16 additional Alabama counties.

SARCOA / CCS will collaborate directly with local health systems, accountable care organizations, and managed care plans across the region to expand these innovative care models, with the goal of improving clinical outcomes and reducing the total cost of care. Expected results include more healthy days at home for residents and improved performance on HEDIS, the quality measures health plans use nationwide to track how well care works.

Residents will be connected to services through referrals from local hospitals, primary care practices, and health plans across five care pathways: hospital-to-home transitions, primary care and ACO referrals, nursing home-to-community transitions, fall prevention, and depression and social isolation support delivered through collaborative care.

Smarter Systems for Smarter Care

Through the national consortium, all eight member hubs will operate on a single shared AthenaOne electronic medical record — a first for community-based care at this scale — with integrated artificial intelligence for population health analytics. Community Care Solutions for some interventions will also employ Cumulus Care, another AI-supported system that empowers improved access to resources and supports improved management of chronic health problems that many of our community struggle with.

These AI-supported platforms will help care teams identify at-risk individuals earlier, guide community health workers in real time, and measure what matters most: more days at home and lower cost of care.

"We are thrilled and cannot wait to see the greater, improved positive impact on health and services for our community, our program participants and for their providers that this award will enable.  It is an honor to work in partnership with our strong medical community and health plans to impact their whole person health" said Kimberly Falkner, Executive Director, SARCOA/Community Care Solutions.

Both winning teams now advance to Phase 2 of the Challenge (August 2026 – July 2027), implementing their strategies locally and nationally. Up to five teams will be selected in summer 2027 to advance to the final scaling phase.

About SARCOA and Community Care Solutions

SARCOA is one of 14 Area Agencies on Aging in Alabama and is also an Aging and Disabilities Resource Center (ADRC), serving as advocates for the elderly or disabled and administering a network of services to the area. SARCOA operates Community Care Solutions, it's Community Care Hub, to provide dedicated community level health management support to promote improved health outcomes. SARCOA / CCS is a Member Community Care Hub of the National Consortium of Community Care Hubs for Health at Home, led by the Oregon Wellness Network with the Oregon Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disabilities (O4AD) as lead applicant.

The Health at Home Challenge is administered by the Administration for Community Living. This announcement does not imply endorsement by ACL, HHS, or the federal government.

SOURCE SARCOA