Note: the RHTP Q3 2026 Quarterly Report is out now— see link below. Any paid subscription gets access.
In this issue:
Oregon’s Office of Rural Health reports workforce and behavioral health as the leading themes from its first round of RHTP convenings, with Year 2 and 3 applications to be regionally driven
North Carolina’s Region 4 ROOTS hub names seven Early Implementation Partners, and Trillium sets a Region 2 Rural Ready Roundtable for October 19
CMS leads its October RoundUp with the ACCESS Model, pitched as RHTP’s complement
RHTP Q3 2026 Quarterly Report
Texas puts dates on its three Year 2 RFAs, with applications due January 5, 12 and 19
Rhode Island sets November 2 for its APM Incentive application and marks RHT Recovery Community Centers FY27 awarded
Montana awards $8.7 million in DPHHS EMS Equipment Grants, more than double the $4 million it posted
Oregon‘s Office of Rural Health reports workforce development and behavioral healthcare access emerge as leading themes during the first round of RHTP convening across Oregon
The Oregon Rural Health Collaborative ran its first round in August and September across eight regions, including La Grande, The Dalles and Burns. ORH calls workforce the “dominant statewide issue”: grow-your-own pathways, plus housing, wages and childcare as barriers. Behavioral health and substance use came second, which some participants called a workforce problem too. Coordination, and knowing what resources already exist, came up everywhere. So did shared staffing.
Participants also said Oregon’s application process is hard for small rural organizations. One line from the room: “I am in the keep people alive space.”
Here’s the schedule:
Virtual regional convenings in November, January, February and March, dates TBD
Four in-person convenings per region, April through July 2027
Regionally driven RHTP applications targeted for Years 2 and 3
ORH will send each region and OHA a synthesis of the findings. The named ORH contact is Sarah Andersen, Director of Field Services.
North Carolina‘s Region 4 ROOTS hub names its Early Implementation Partners, and Trillium sets a Region 2 Rural Ready Roundtable for October 19
UNC Health runs Region 4 (Orange, Caswell, Person, Granville, Vance, Warren, Franklin, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Wake, Durham, Alamance, Chatham). It posted a one-sheet with no date naming seven partners:
NC Integrated Care for Kids: Chronic Disease
Piedmont Health Services: Chronic Disease
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center: Chronic Disease
Collaborative for Maternal and Infant Health: Perinatal Health
Equity Foods (Good Bowls): Food Is Medicine, a medically tailored meal delivery network
Ingram Institute for Healthcare Access: Workforce, covering pre-apprenticeships, paid apprenticeships with community colleges and leadership development
ShepsGME Technical Assistance Center: Workforce, covering a statewide rural GME consortium, residency and fellowship expansion and rural training hubs
The sheet says more partners will be named through competitive grants. The page adds that UNC Health is “currently developing the application process for NC ROOTS in Region Four.”
Trillium, which runs Regions 2 and 5, started a quarterly public meeting called the Rural Ready Roundtable. The Region 2 session is Monday, October 19, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., virtual, and you have to register. Region 5 has a page but no date yet.
CMS leads its October RoundUp with the ACCESS Model, pitched as RHTP’s complement
Alina Czekai, Director of the CMS Office of Rural Health Transformation, opened yesterday afternoon’s RoundUp email with the Innovation Center’s Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions Model, not with RHTP:
ACCESS uses outcomes-based payments to support technology-enabled chronic care, while RHTP gives states the flexibility to invest in areas such as infrastructure, workforce, data exchange, and provider readiness.
ACCESS covers cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal and behavioral health conditions. More tracks are planned for heart failure, COPD, substance use disorders and tobacco cessation. Czekai closes: “We look forward to helping states explore how these two complementary and impactful programs can support their rural communities.” She names no states and gives no dates.
The RoundUp’s spotlight is Maryland’s NourishMD, the $1.6 million DHCD food-desert grocer line we listed in Maryland’s Budget Period 1 table in September. Its news list repeats ten state releases already reported here.
