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Rural Health Transformation Program tracker › South Dakota

South Dakota

Rural Health Transformation Program
Program
South Dakota
First-year award
$189,477,607 (CMS)
Lead agency
Department of Health, with the Department of Social Services
Program page
doh.sd.gov/healthcare-professionals/rural-health/rural-health-transformation-project
Contact
The program office's contact details
Where the plan names technology
South Dakota's plan leads with a Technology and Data Connection initiative that pays for EHR implementation and connections to South Dakota Health Link, cybersecurity upgrades such as encryption, multifactor authentication and intrusion detection, telehealth modules and a rural Health Data Atlas. Its eligible activities include "AI-powered clinical support tools" and decision support with "predictive algorithms," and a performance metric counts "innovative health IT pilots (AI-driven tools, advanced analytics, novel telehealth integrations)."
AI named in the plan
Yes
Funding rounds
Awards
  • Oct 3, 2026: approximately $7.2 million to 25 projects. Emergency medical services grants; CMS's release says the projects, led by local ambulance services, hospitals and community organizations, will expand ambulance-based telemedicine and modernize dispatch and communications systems. Announcement
  • Sept 24, 2026: more than $13 million to 12 grants. Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic modernization and infrastructure grants; CMS said the money will help create a same-day 24/7 mobile crisis response service. Announcement
  • Aug 19, 2026: $90 million to 82 grants. Technology and data grants to accelerate digital health modernization, strengthen cybersecurity and enhance interoperability. CMS's release lists modernizing electronic health records, cybersecurity and network infrastructure, and virtual care; it does not name AI. Announcement
  • Jul 23, 2026: $31.5 million to 28 Rural Strong grants. Rural Strong grants to rural health systems; CMS described them as 28 projects across 20 health systems and named no AI project. Announcement
Next
Statuses and amounts come from the state's funding forecast, updated Sept. 15, 2026, which also plans to "Prepare to release Year 2 of Grant Program Funding" in the fourth quarter. The forecast listed the EMS initiative round as open, and gave no status for the behavioral health modernization grant, before the governor's EMS and behavioral health awards of Oct. 3 and Sept. 24; both are shown here as awarded on that basis. Requests for proposals are posted on the state's central bidding site, which could not be read for this tracker, so opening dates, deadlines and eligibility are not shown for most rounds. The forecast also lists requests for proposals for consultants, vendors and statewide programming, among them chronic disease self-management and caregiver support programming, which are not shown here because their terms could not be read. The state's annual report to CMS, not yet approved, counts "30 Rural Strong grants" worth $31.75 million; the July announcement gave 28 grants and $31.5 million.
Sources: CMS, first-year awards, Department of Health program page, South Dakota's project narrative, RHT funding forecast, Sept. 15, 2026, Department of Health, second round of RFPs, March 3, 2026, RHT resources and FAQs, RHT press releases, South Dakota annual report to CMS, CMS, South Dakota technology awards, CMS, South Dakota behavioral health awards, CMS, South Dakota EMS awards
Checked against its sources

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

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