LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced $149.3 million in awards to recipients of the first round of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) grants, established through President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. The initial funding round will award $55.7 million through the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE) initiative and $93.6 million through the Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation (PACT) priority. The awards are part of the $209 million the state expects to award by this fall. Governor Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) anticipate that Arkansas will receive approximately $1 billion in RHTP funding over the next five years. Two additional initiatives of grant funding will be announced at a later date for the Recruitment Innovation Skills and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR) and Healthy Eating, Active Recreation, and Transformation (HEART) initiatives. “Arkansas’ rural communities are home to families who work hard, care for their neighbors, and deserve access to quality health care close to home,” said Governor Sanders. “Thanks to President Trump and his One Big Beautiful Bill, these awards will help local hospitals, health care providers, and community partners bring new services and technology directly to the Arkansans who need them. I’m proud that we are investing in stronger, healthier communities and building a better future for families across the Natural State.”
“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 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “ Funding new approaches to expand access to both primary and specialty care is a critical step toward achieving that vision for Arkansans, and I look forward to seeing RHTP investments drive equally transformative innovations for rural communities nationwide.” “Just over a year ago, Governor Sanders tasked our RHTP steering committee with developing Arkansas’s RHTP plan to address poor health outcomes and need for financial sustainability ,” said DFA Secretary Jim Hudson. “Our RHTP plan builds on Governor Sanders’ vision for addressing maternal healthcare in rural Arkansas, through innovative, collaborative solutions. We appreciate the hard work of the RHTP Steering Committee, Secretary Mann, Secretary Mallory, Dr. Ted Brown and Dr. Kay Chandler. Today’s announcement is the result of a strong partnership between healthcare professionals across Arkansas and state and local leaders. We look forward to the impact this program will have for decades to come.” THRIVE modernizes rural health care delivery by expanding telehealth, strengthening emergency medical response, and deploying remote patient-monitoring technology. PACT brings specialty care, preventive screenings, telehealth, and trauma-ready services into rural communities while supporting locally driven clinical networks, data sharing, and regional collaboration. The 50 project awards represent rural hospitals, health systems, emergency medical service providers, community health centers, universities, and nonprofit organizations serving communities across Arkansas. The projects will expand access to specialty and maternal care, strengthen behavioral health and emergency services, modernize rural health care facilities, and deploy telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and other technologies that bring care closer to patients. The THRIVE grant recipients are:
The PACT grant recipients are:
Project specifics are based off recipient organizations’ applications and the details of each grant will not be finalized until DFA signs an official agreement with each grantee.
This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $208,779,396.02, with 100% funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.
A map of the Arkansas counties impacted by this round of RHTP first grants is below.
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