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Rural Health Transformation Program tracker › Missouri

Missouri

Rural Health Transformation Program
Program
Missouri
First-year award
$216,276,818 (CMS)
Lead agency
Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS), Rural Health Transformation Office
Program page
dss.mo.gov/node/22351
Contact
The program office's contact details
Where the plan names technology
Under Missouri's Transformation of Rural Community Health (ToRCH) Care program, the state's application includes a Digital Backbone initiative that "establishes Missouri's statewide interoperability framework, connecting all rural providers through HL7 FHIR and USCDI v3 standards," and plans EHR upgrades and telehealth links among providers. The program page lists "Using the latest technology tools, including Artificial Intelligence, to help predict and manage chronic diseases," and its timeline lists an "Ambient AI Request for Information (RFI)" dated June 1, 2026; the hub anchor application asks anchors to coordinate "provider transformation technologies (Ambient AI, telehealth, RPM)."
AI named in the plan
Yes
Funding rounds
  • Closed ToRCH Care Smart Growth and Service Line Modification (IFB #DSS26015); nearly $40 million, pending CMS budget approval; up to $5 million per award; opened Jul 29, 2026, deadline Aug 28, 2026; eligible: "a rural hospital or health center," licensed under state law, for maternal health, behavioral health, or diagnostics and outpatient care projects, with a match of at least 25%
  • Closed Rural home visiting expansion (Missouri Children's Trust Fund); $588,000 available annually; up to $100,000 for model fees and training for new nurse home visitors and up to $488,000 to expand existing services; opened Jul 2, 2026, deadline Aug 23, 2026; eligible: Organizations that operate, or are actively working to implement, an evidence-based HomVEE-approved home visiting model delivered through nurses
  • Awarded ToRCH Care Hub Anchor application; opened May 15, 2026, deadline Jun 18, 2026; eligible: Any organization; examples include rural and critical access hospitals, FQHCs and rural health clinics, local public health agencies, behavioral health providers and large community organizations
  • Awarded Strategic Minor Renovations Program (invitation for bid for rural hospital repairs); $30,478,702.17 in Year 1; eligible: Licensed Missouri hospitals, including critical access and safety-net facilities, that show financial stress or serve areas with limited alternative care
  • Open Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine (MIH-CP) site funding through MEMSA; up to $250,000 for an individual program's startup costs; up to $500,000 for a larger regional system; opened Jul 24, 2026; eligible: Local EMS organizations recruited by the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association, which posts eligibility on its funding portal
Awards
  • Sept 22, 2026: approximately $35 million to 20 projects. Strategic Minor Renovations grants to rural hospitals for building system upgrades, diagnostic equipment and facility improvements, with awards from $216,376.59 to $2,500,000.00. Announcement
  • Sept 22, 2026: up to $4.2 million to 437 individuals selected for EMT and paramedic training, with 11 training partners. First-year rural EMS workforce investment made with the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association; 826 people applied. Announcement
  • Sept 22, 2026: up to $6.4 million to MO-CPAP and MO-MHAP, run with the University of Missouri's Center for Child Well-Being. Expansion of two provider-support programs for behavioral health consultation in rural Missouri. Announcement
  • Jul 24, 2026: around $6.5M through July 31, 2027 to Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association (MEMSA), which administers the initiative. Expansion of Mobile Integrated Healthcare and Community Paramedicine, with a goal of 14 operational sites in rural Missouri; agencies may also use the funds for the charting systems that connect them with local health care partners. Announcement
  • Jul 20, 2026: $732,660.43 to Missouri Doula Association. A partnership with the Department of Health and Senior Services' Office on Women's Health to train, credential and integrate community-based doulas and perinatal community health workers into rural health care teams. Announcement
  • Jul 17, 2026: to 27 Hub Anchor organizations, one for each ToRCH Care Hub, from 41 applications. Selection of the organizations that anchor the 27 regional hubs, subject to a Hub Anchor Participation Agreement. Announcement
Next
DSS also sought vendor input through a Telehealth and Remote Monitoring request for information with two tracks, "Remote Patient Monitoring for Maternal Care" and "Telehealth Specialist Access for Rural Hospitals and Providers," with responses due Sept. 9, 2026, and opened applications for medical clerkships on June 18, 2026. The program page lists the Smart Growth round as open, but the solicitation's return date was Aug. 28, 2026. DSS's July 29 announcement described that funding as open to "hospitals and any organization whose programs, facilities, workforce, or services" expand rural access, while the solicitation says "The contractor shall be a rural hospital or health center." Questions go to [email protected], and DSS keeps a stakeholder email list.
Sources: CMS, first-year awards, DSS program page, Missouri's application narrative, Hub Anchor application, Hub Anchors announced, DSS, invitation for bid for rural hospital repairs, DSS, Strategic Minor Renovations awards, Strategic Minor Renovations recipients, DSS, Smart Growth opportunity, IFB #DSS26015, DSS, MIH-CP initiative, DSS, maternal health partnership, DSS, home visiting opportunity, DSS, rural EMS workforce, DSS, MO-CPAP and MO-MHAP, MEMSA, RHT funding portal
Checked against its sources

What the money can pay for: What does the Rural Health Transformation Program pay for?.

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