Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Pemiscot Memorial Health Systems received a $350,000 Project Grant from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy under the Rural Health Limited Geographic Areas: Delta, Appalachian Region, and Northern Border Region program (CFDA 93.619) with an award date of September 1, 2026, and completion deadline of August 31, 2028. The grant funds a comprehensive rural healthcare transformation project designed to address critical infrastructure and service delivery gaps in Pemiscot County, Missouri, a medically underserved Delta Region community with high poverty rates and elevated chronic disease prevalence. The two-year initiative focuses on four primary implementation activities: deployment of PointClickCare Electronic Health Record (EHR) system for long-term care documentation and revenue cycle management; implementation of HEDIS Analytics quality measurement dashboards to standardize care metrics and track provider performance; modernization of cybersecurity infrastructure through replacement of obsolete IT systems with enterprise-grade security gateways, encrypted access points, and a HIPAA-compliant HealOW telehealth platform; and installation of advanced diagnostic capabilities including an Aplio A550 ultrasound system with specialized liver disease imaging technology.

This implementation directly addresses documented service delivery barriers in a disproportionate share hospital that serves significantly higher percentages of Medicaid, uninsured, and low-income patients than regional peers and functions as the primary healthcare provider with nearest tertiary care centers located over 85 miles away. The project responds to technical assistance findings identifying obsolete IT infrastructure creating security vulnerabilities, lack of standardized quality measurement systems, inefficient paper-based documentation processes in the long-term care unit, and limited diagnostic capabilities for rural patients with chronic liver disease—conditions prevalent in the region due to high rates of obesity, diabetes, and alcohol use.