Oregon Drops Its First Immediate Impact Awards — 12 Projects, No Application Required
Competitive Catalyst Award RFPs due in May.
Oregon announced late Friday: Oregon organizations awarded federal funding to improve rural healthcare
Oregon announced its first round of Immediate Impact Awards on April 10, funding 12 projects totaling roughly $6.5 million.
Unlike the larger Catalyst Award RFPs due May 26, these were non-competitive direct grants — OHA picked the projects, matched them to Year 1 metrics CMS will use to judge whether Oregon keeps its funding, and wrote the checks. Every project must be operational within two months.
Three projects target maternal and newborn care:
A mobile obstetrics simulation unit run by the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative that will bring hands-on OB training to rural hospitals that haven’t seen a delivery team drill in years
A 24/7 obstetric addiction advice line operated by OHSU’s departments of Maternal & Fetal Medicine and Addiction Medicine
A statewide nurse home visiting expansion through Family Connects Oregon in partnership with local public health authorities
Together, they form a cradle-to-postnatal safety net designed to move the needle on the maternal mortality metrics CMS is watching.
The workforce pipeline plays are equally pointed.
On the North Coast, Northwest Regional ESD is partnering with Clatsop Community College and Providence Seaside Hospital to build a medical assistant education pathway for high school students — a grow-your-own model that puts clinical training in front of teenagers
Healthcare Safety Solutions, working with the Idaho Simulation Network, will run up to 12 EMS simulations across rural provider sites, keeping emergency skills sharp in places where a critical call might happen once a quarter
Behavioral health and substance use get three awards.
Mosaic Community Health will embed school-based substance use and mental health early intervention in Sisters School District, Enterprise Middle/High, and Grant County ESD, backed by the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission
The Alano Club of Portland and Comagine Health are partnering with OHA’s Addiction Treatment Recovery & Prevention Services to expand naloxone access in rural communities
The Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN) will deliver remote ACE education to healthcare providers through the Oregon ECHO Network
Chronic disease, aging, and prevention round out the list.
ORPRN picks up a second award for community health worker training in chronic disease management
Columbia Gorge Health Council will launch a CHW-led senior visiting model out of local clinics
Portland State University is leading a brain health promotion and dementia initiative aimed at rural populations where diagnosis rates lag behind the rest of the state.
The Oregon School Nurses Association lands the remaining award: a school nursing access pilot across North Central, Southern Oregon, and Wallowa County educational service districts — regions where a single nurse may cover an entire district.
Every project maps to a measurable outcome CMS can audit: births attended, naloxone kits distributed, simulation hours logged, home visits completed.
More on the Catalyst Awards
On April 14, 2026, OHA will host an informational webinar on the Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP) process for the Catalyst Awards that will be offered by the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP).
Webinar Information
Date: April 14, 2026
Time: 12:00-1:00PM PST (1:00PM-2:00PM MST)
Platform: Teams Webinar
Nevada updates RFA questions
Tennessee webinar re: Rural Health Transformation Additional Opportunities
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Host: Olivia Hall
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Includes authoritative clarifications on unexpended funds, the checkpoint model, government shutdown continuity, healthcare worker non-compete agreements, an implementation rigidity on program design and budgets.
Notable: Florida has already published the CMS guidance on their homepage":
