The Albany Gazette - Equum Medical Expands Rural Health Commitment in Texas through TORCH

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 8, 2026 / Equum Medical, a national provider of telehealth-enabled clinical services, today announced that it has joined the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH) as a Corporate Member. The membership deepens Equum's commitment to rural healthcare in Texas and creates a new avenue for the company to listen to, learn from and support the hospitals working to preserve dependable local care across the state.

TORCH serves as the voice and principal advocate for rural and community hospitals in Texas and provides leadership around their distinct operational, financial and policy needs. TORCH reports that rural hospitals serve nearly 4 million Texans and provide emergency and local hospital coverage across 85 percent of the state's geography. For these hospitals, access to specialty expertise, stable clinical staffing and sustainable service lines is inseparable from community health and economic resilience.

The timing is especially important as Texas implements Rural Texas Strong, its plan under the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. Texas is expected to receive approximately $1.4 billion over five years, including $281.3 million in the first budget period, to advance six initiatives spanning prevention, workforce, infrastructure, patient access, cybersecurity and the state's Lone Star Advanced AI and Telehealth initiative. As eligible hospitals and regional organizations evaluate these opportunities, Equum can contribute practical experience designing virtual clinical programs that pair technology with licensed clinicians, local workflows, program governance and measurable performance.

"Rural Texas Strong creates a rare opportunity to build durable clinical capacity to serve the state's communities. By joining TORCH we look forward to listening to Texas rural hospital leaders and helping turn investments in telehealth, workforce and infrastructure into sustainable care models that strengthen local teams, reduce avoidable transfers and keep more appropriate care close to home."

- Corey Scurlock, MD, MBA, Founder and CEO, Equum Medical

Equum's model is designed for hospitals that need clinical capability but cannot justify or sustain a full on-site specialty program at every location. Through its ProviderPOD™ and Dynamic Virtual Resourcing approaches, hospitals can access dedicated, credentialed physician and nursing teams on a fractional or shared-service basis, integrated into local workflows and existing technology. Equum's 14-plus service lines span tele-neurology and stroke, psychiatry, cardiology, nephrology, pulmonology, infectious disease, critical care and hospitalist coverage, as well as virtual nursing, patient observation and telemetry.

For rural hospitals, these models can support practical priorities: faster specialist input in the emergency department, stronger admission and disposition decisions, fewer avoidable transfers when patients can be safely cared for locally, expanded inpatient capability, and added support for bedside teams. Equum has completed more than 400 implementations nationwide and monitors more than 2 million patient hours annually.

The TORCH Corporate Membership adds a Texas-specific dimension to Equum's broader rural health engagement. Equum is a Gold Partner of the National Rural Health Association, a Business Partner of the National Cooperative of Health Networks, and a founding member of the RHT Alliance. Equum earlier this month has also announced it's strategic partnership with Stroudwater Associates to deliver a comprehensive services solution for hospitals facing access and specialist constraints. Its Collaborative Shared Services Program gives rural hospitals and health networks a way to aggregate demand and share access to clinical expertise, an approach that may be particularly relevant to cooperative and regional models contemplated under Rural Texas Strong.

About Equum Medical

Founded in 2011 and physician operated, Equum Medical is a nationally recognized provider of telehealth-enabled clinical services. Equum helps hospitals expand access, increase capacity and improve patient flow by integrating board-certified physicians, nurses and monitoring professionals into local care teams. Equum serves rural and community hospitals, critical access hospitals, regional health systems and national networks. Learn more at www.equummedical.com

About TORCH

Since 1990, the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals is the voice and principal advocate for rural and community hospitals in Texas and provides leadership in addressing the special needs and issues of these hospitals. TORCH supports rural hospitals, their staff and the patients they serve through advocacy, education, services, resources and opportunities for engagement. Learn more at https://www.torchnet.org/

Media Contact

Karsten Russell-Wood, MBA, MPH
Chief Marketing & Experience Officer
Equum Medical
[email protected]

SOURCE: Equum Medical

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(T.Brown--TAG)