North dakota rural health transformation program - organization: north dakota department of health and human services (NDHHS) rural health transformation plan (RHTP) total budget requested:…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services a Cooperative Agreement totaling $795.747 million on December 29, 2025, for the Rural Health Transformation Program (CFDA 93.798), with performance through October 30, 2030.

The award funds a five-year statewide roadmap to strengthen rural health workforce, prevent chronic disease, expand telehealth and remote monitoring, and modernize data systems across North Dakota. Work is performed statewide in North Dakota. The recipient allocated funding as follows: $162.4 million for rural health workforce development through new residencies, grow-your-own workforce pipelines, recruitment and retention grants, and training to enable existing workforce to work at the top of their license; and $85.9 million for population health initiatives through evidence-based nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral health programs.

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services passed through Rural Health Transformation Program sub-awards to multiple rural health providers, including Towner County Medical Center, ST Lukes Hospital (Crosby Clinic), Wishek Hospital-Clinic Association (South Central Health), Linton Hospital (Linton Clinic), Christian Unity Hospital Inc. (Unity Medical Center), Presentation Medical Center, Carrington Health Center (CHI ST Alexius Health-Carrington), Sanford Health Network North, Hazen Memorial Hospital Association (Sakakawea Medical Center), ST Andrews Hospital (SMP Health - ST. Andrew's), West River Health Services (West River Regional Med Center), and SMP Health ST Aloisius. Additional sub-recipients included the University of North Dakota, North Dakota State University, and regional development councils (Lewis and Clark Regional Development Council, Red River Regional Council, North Central Planning Council, Roosevelt-Custer Regional Council, Lake Agassiz Regional Council, South Central Dakota Regional Council, Souris Basin Planning Council, and Tri-County Regional Development Council), along with county health units, municipal governments, and local health departments throughout North Dakota.

North dakota rural health transformation program - organization: north dakota department of health and human services (NDHHS) rural health transformation plan (RHTP) total budget requested: $1,000,000,000 purpose: north dakota's rural health system is under threat from workforce shortages, financially fragile facilities, widening outcome gaps for tribal and frontier communities, and fragmented data and technology that block innovation. Our rural health transformation plan (RHTP) is a five-year, statewide roadmap to strengthen and stabilize rural workforce, bring high quality health care closer to home, connect tech, data and providers and make north dakota healthy again. Built on broad stakeholder input, our RHTP confronts immediate threats to rural health while building lasting sustainability. Goals/outcomes 1. Rebuild and retain a rural health workforce • increase rural provider retention • expand remote monitoring and AI-assisted care • reduce health professional shortages 2. Prevent chronic disease, restore health, and reduce cost • increase activity and reduce obesity • reduce chronic disease • prevent suicide 3. Bring high quality care closer to home • increase telehealth and remote monitoring use • improve care coordination • improve timeliness of care 4. Gain efficiency with modern tech and data • increase transparency and modernize and cross-link data • create savings from cooperative purchasing • expand remote monitoring and AI-assisted care how north dakota will use the funds 1. Strengthen and stabilize rural health workforce ($162.4M) - train and retain a high-skilled workforce through new residencies, grow-your-own workforce pipelines, recruitment and retention grants, and training to develop the existing workforce to work at the top of their license. 2. Make north dakota healthy again ($85.9M) - launch eat well ND and ND moves together to put evidence-based practices in nutrition, physical activity and behavioral health at the center of everyday life. Sustain progress through multipayer focus on innovative care models and payment mechanisms. 3. Bring high-quality health care closer to home ($583.8M) - transform care models with new tech tools to reduce reliance on physical workforce and foster efficiency by deploying telehealth hubs, mobile clinics, remote patient monitoring, while aligning to new care coordination models and focusing on sustainability through revenue diversification and right-sizing care delivery. 4. Connect tech, data and providers for a stronger ND ($168.0M) - cut costs by modernizing tech infrastructure and bringing providers together to support shared infrastructure and improved data sharing. North dakota is taking bold steps to restore health, opportunity, and dignity to our prairies. North dakota's RHTP delivers practical investments that honor local and tribal values, protect rural independence, and get america back to what matters: healthy people, prosperous communities, and common-sense service delivery.