July 9, 2026

What's New

Orientation to the Appalachian Region Healthcare Technical Assistance Center – Thursday, July 9 at 2:00 pm Eastern.  This FORHP-funded program provides cost-free, comprehensive technical assistance to improve quality of care for HRSA-designated rural providers located within the counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission.  Service improvement areas include finances, operations, quality, service line expansion, and strategic planning.  Applications are accepted through September 4 for the next cohort being selected in Fall 2026.

Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD): Recruiting Residents into a New Residency Program – Tuesday, July 14 at 12:00 pm Eastern. Our FORHP-funded technical assistance partners at RuralGME.org hold a monthly series on graduate medical education (GME) topics. While these webinars are produced to support FORHP’s RRPD grantees in developing their residency programs, they are open to anyone with an interest in learning more about rural GME.

Rural Hospital Financial Performance: Tools for Data-Driven Decision Making – Tuesday, July 21 at 1:00 pm Eastern. Experts from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the North Carolina Rural Health Research Center will introduce two new, data-driven tools that provide valuable insights into the financial health of rural hospitals. These include ASPE’s Rural Hospital Financial Performance Dashboard launched in May. Learn how these complementary resources can support planning, policy, research, and decision-making.

Previously Announced FORHP Funding

Rural Northern Border Region Network Planning Program (RNBR-NP) – Apply by July 10. The RNBR-NP is a new program that provides one-year funding to build new, or strengthen existing health care networks, in the Northern Border Region. 

Delta Rural Integrated Health Network Program – Apply by July 17. The Delta Rural Integrated Health Network Program seeks to improve healthcare delivery in the region by supporting the development of integrated health networks among rural hospitals, primary care clinics, behavioral health providers, and other essential healthcare organizations in the Delta region. 

Rural Health Network Advancement Program (RHNAP) – Apply by July 24. The RHNAP is a new program that supports existing Rural Health Networks expand and evolve their work to meet the growing needs of their rural member hospitals and clinics.

Rural Hospital Provider Assistance (RHPA) Program  – Apply by July 27. The RHPA Program provides direct financial assistance to eligible rural hospitals (does not include Critical Access Hospitals) facing structural payment disadvantages with the goal of maintaining essential health care services and preventing avoidable closures.  Eligibility for this program is based on methodology outlined in a Federal Register Notice.

Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program – August 6. Small rural healthcare facilities improve quality improvement culture by building capacity to effectively collect and use clinical data while implementing evidence-based approaches to improve health care quality with a particular focus on improving chronic disease outcomes. You can view a recording of the technical assistance webinar.

Funding and Opportunities

HRSA Faculty Loan Repayment Program – Deadline Extended to July 21. Administered by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce, this program provides up to $40,000 to help health professions faculty pay down their student loan debt. In return, these faculty members serve for two years as full or part-time faculty members at an eligible health professions school. The original deadline of July 9 has been extended to Tuesday, July 21.

SAMHSA Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids – July 27. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides funding to expand the use of non-opioid pain management protocols for patients presenting with pain in emergency care settings. The program supports early identification of opioid use disorder (OUD) and timely intervention and referral to OUD care. Rural Emergency Hospitals are listed as eligible applicants.

SAMHSA First Responders – Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grants – July 27. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) invests this funding to train first responders and communities in administering and distributing opioid overdose reversal medications. Funding is set aside for recipients serving rural and tribal communities. SAMHSA will hold a pre-application webinar TODAY, July 9, at 3:30 pm Eastern.

SAMHSA Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program – July 27. Funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) aims to identify college students who are at risk for suicide and suicide attempts, increase protective factors that promote mental health, reduce risk factors for substance use disorders and suicide, and ultimately reduce suicides and suicide attempts.

SAMHSA Mental Health Awareness Training Grants – July 27. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides grants to prepare and train school personnel, emergency first responders, law enforcement, and community-based agency staff on how to recognize and respond to individuals with mental disorders. Rural applicants have been awarded grants in the past, and up to 3 awards will be made to tribes/tribal organizations pending sufficient application volume.

SAMHSA Promoting the Integration of Primary and Behavioral Health Care: States – July 27. This funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) aims to improve the health outcomes for people with behavioral health conditions by supporting the adoption and improvement of integrated care models for behavioral and primary physical health at the state level. Tribal, rural, and other medically underserved communities are a program priority. Program eligibility is limited to states and state agencies; however, states must partner at least 1 qualified community program, community mental health center, Rural Health Clinic, or Federally Qualified Health Center.

HRSA Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students – July 28. This funding administered by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce is designed to strengthen the health professions and nursing workforce by supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are more likely to practice in primary care and in rural and medically vulnerable communities. Awards will go to eligible health professions schools to give scholarships to students with a financial need.

ARC Appalachia READY Local Governments Training – July 31. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) provides training to help local government officials in the Appalachian region better identify, secure, manage, and implement federally funded economic development projects.

ACL Dementia Capable Community Health Worker Programs – August 3. As part of its Alzheimer’s Disease Programs Initiative, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) seeks to enhance dementia-capable workforce capacity with Community Health Workers. See the Approaching Deadlines section below for two related funding opportunities with applications due on July 22.

USDA Native Community Development Financial Institution Relending Demonstration Program – August 14. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides loans for Native Community Development Financial Institutions to use for relending to increase homeownership opportunities for Native American tribes, Alaska Native communities, and Native Hawaiian communities in rural areas.

USDA America’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative – September 30. Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides funding for loans and technical assistance to strengthen, expand, and innovate food retail. The funding is administered through the Reinvestment Fund, a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution that pools capital from private and public investors to revitalize underserved communities.

Policy Updates

Send questions to ruralpolicy@hrsa.gov.

No updates this week.

Resources of the Week

Practical Guide to Supporting Innovation in Rural Health. Recently, the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub), in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, released a new guide that explores how rural communities can build on their local expertise, strong partnerships, and existing assets to create innovative solutions that address their unique healthcare challenges. It’s the latest addition to RHIhub’s library of evidence-based toolkits and guides.

Local Facilitators Lead the Way in Stigma Reduction This resource describes community-led on opioid use in rural communities, through conversation, workshops, and other resources for addressing substance use disorder. The University of Rochester Recovery Center of Excellence is one of three such centers funded through FORHP’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP).

RCORP-TA Podcast: Award-Winning Transportation is Medicine Episode  Rural transportation poses a lot of challenges and obstacles, but also some unique opportunities. Theresa Lemus (Technical Expert Lead for RCORP-TA) joins the podcast as a guest host to talk "Transportation Is Medicine" with RCORP grantees, Valerie Lefler, Executive Director and Founder of Feonix - Mobility Rising, and Amy Pina, Clinical Director, Coastal Plains Integrated Health.