Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Monday that 138 grants will be awarded to healthcare providers and organizations across the state—totaling more than $144 million—in the first round of the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP).
The grants support projects across every county in the state to improve healthcare access, quality and outcomes. The Alabama RHTP (ARHTP) includes 11 initiatives, with initial grants funding five: rural health, rural workforce, mental health, rural health practice and collaborative electronic health record (EHR), IT and cybersecurity.
“Alabama is serious about creating systematic changes through the ARHTP to ensure every citizen has access to quality care. This program is enabling institutions covering every part of the state to improve healthcare for Alabamians through projects that are both innovative and sustainable,” Ivey said in a statement. “From the federal policymakers and state administrators to our professional healthcare leaders, I commend all the thoughtful work dedicated to ensuring the success of this program.”
Grants for remaining initiatives are in progress and will be announced at a later date, according to an Aug. 24 press release.
The collaborative EHR, IT and cybersecurity grants cover 29 projects; rural health grants cover 57 projects; rural workforce initiative grants cover 25 projects; rural health practice grants cover 14 projects and mental health grants cover 13 projects.
The projects are supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), totaling $203.4 million, per the press release.
“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is based on one simple idea: your access to quality health care shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code,” said Mehmet Oz, M.D., CMS administrator, in a statement. “Funding new approaches to expand access to both primary and specialty care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Alabamians, and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.”
Every state submitted applications to the federal government in November outlining plans to improve rural healthcare with their share of $50 billion in funds from the five-year program, with CMS announcing awards in December.