Communications

(March 6, 2026) – The Rural Health Transformation Program has been a topic of interest for many Kansas hospitals since its inception last July. Since that time, the Kansas Hospital Association has been closely monitoring the activities in Kansas and around the nation. It is exciting to finally see programs in the early stages of implementation. Over the next several months, there will be several opportunities for hospitals to engage and leverage the available programs.

The Kansas Rural Health Innovation Alliance met last Friday, Feb. 27. During this meeting, the state provided an update on implementation activities. They specifically shared details on four of the seven priority programs slated for early implementation.

• Regional Partnerships Grant Program
  This grant focuses on organizations pursuing collaborative arrangements with one or more eligible providers for the purpose of transforming rural health care delivery within a region in a sustainable manner.
  • $44 million is allocated for this program.
  • Submission Deadline: Noon on April 3, 2026.
  • The state anticipates awarding from five to 10 proposals with awards of $2-$10 million each.
  • Applicants planning to apply may submit a non-mandatory, non-binding Letter of Intent to KDHE at kdhe.REH-CAP@ks.gov by noon on March 9, 2026.
  • Applications must be submitted through the online porta, which can be accessed via KDHE's RHTP webpage.
  • Awardees will be considered subrecipients and subject to compliance requirements found in the code of federal regulations (2 CFR Part 200).

• REH Conversion/Transformative Capital Investment Grant Program
  This grant provides facilities that are in the process of converting to Rural Emergency Hospital status with funds to make necessary facility renovations and provide facilities that have converted and other eligible providers with funds to make capital investments to transform the manner in which they serve their communities.
  • $15 million is allocated for this program.
  • Submission Deadline: Noon on March 20, 2026.
  • The state anticipates awarding up to 15 proposals with awards of up to $3 million each.
  • Applicants planning to apply may submit a non-mandatory, non-binding Letter of Intent to KDHE at kdhe.REH-CAP@ks.gov by noon on March 9, 2026.
  • Applications must be submitted through the online portal which can be accessed via KDHE's RHTP webpage.
  • Awardees will be considered subrecipients and subject to compliance requirements found in the code of federal regulations (2 CFR Part 200).

• Anchor Hospital Advancement Program
  The Anchor Hospital Advancement Program is designed to help rural hospitals keep care close to home by supporting expansion of services, enhancement of specialist access and elevation of patient care across the Kansas. To start, ten regional anchor health care facilities in rural Kansas have been identified based on the objective criteria approved by the state. The program is supported through RHTP funding, and through resources provided by The University of Kansas Health System and Ascension Via Christi. Participation as an anchor hospital is voluntary. The focus in the first year of the AHAP program will be in four key areas:
  • On demand consultative resource for advisory needs of an anchor hospital;
  • Artificial Intelligence / Electronic Health Record enhancements;
  • Rural residency programs; and
  • Remote patient monitoring.

• Evidence Based Practices Program
  This program will assist rural providers with adopting and implementing evidence-based practices as a step toward value-based care.
  • Eligible entities: hospitals, rural health clinics, rural Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and rural-provider based and independent full-time primary care clinics.
  • Organizations committed to building capacity for data reporting and implement evidence-based practices will be eligible for an Infrastructure Payment ($100,000 hospitals and $50,000 clinics).
  • Reporting data on five specified measures for the months of June, July and August will qualify entities for an incentive payment ($50,000 hospitals and $25,000 clinics).
  • Participation agreements are expected to be available by April 1, 2026.
  • Data will be reported in QHI.
  • Training and technical assistance will be provided for those that chose to participate.

Additional priority projects are accountable food as medicine with community health worker deployment, workforce education and training and interfacility transports. We look forward to learning more about these projects in the coming days.

We also were pleased this week to provide an opportunity for members to learn more about RHTP initiatives at the Critical Issues Summit. Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Janet Stanek shared the state's plans for implementation. We appreciate the continued communication as the Kansas RHT Plan unfolds.

We will have another opportunity for members to learn more about RHTP opportunities during Spring District Meetings. We have dedicated time on the agenda for continued discussions.

In total, 24 programs will be rolling out as part of the Kansas RHT plan. We encourage hospitals to review each opportunity as they open and identify the ones that align with the hospital's mission and vision. As with all grants, consideration must be given to the resources needed for implementation and the compliance/reporting requirements.

The timeline for implementation in this first year is very tight and things will continue to move quickly. KHA will continue to provide members with updates as we learn more and include information on the Rural Health Transformation Program section of the KHA website. Please dont hesitate to contact your KHA team as you have questions or needs!
--Chad Austin