Rural residency planning and development program - applicant facility type: other - federally qualified health center (fqhc) operated by a public hospital authority (lawton community health center,…

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professionals awarded Comanche County Hospital Authority $750,000 on August 1, 2026, to establish a new rural psychiatry residency program under the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program.

The recipient will develop a four-year psychiatry residency program serving Tillman County, Oklahoma (anchor site) and adjacent portions of Comanche, Jackson, Kiowa, and Cotton counties. The program is projected to train 12 residents at full complement (3 residents per class). During the first nine months of the award period, Comanche County Hospital Authority will determine its ACGME sponsorship structure—either seeking institutional accreditation independently or forming or joining a GME consortium with an academic partner such as Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences or the Osteopathic Medical Education Consortium of Oklahoma. The recipient will submit an ACGME application by the end of year 2, with program accreditation and establishment targeted by July 31, 2029. The first resident class is expected to matriculate in the academic year beginning in 2030.

Comanche County Hospital Authority, operating as Comanche County Memorial Hospital, is a public hospital authority based in Lawton, Oklahoma, currently administering two residency programs for Oklahoma State University as the sponsoring institution. Lawton Community Health Center, an FQHC operated by the authority, will serve as the primary facility supporting the new program.

Performance extends through July 31, 2029. The recipient identified Medicare GME cap increase for a new rural residency program and Medicare reasonable-cost payments for critical access hospitals as sustainability options.

Rural residency planning and development program - applicant facility type: other - federally qualified health center (fqhc) operated by a public hospital authority (lawton community health center, operated by the comanche county hospital authority) program pathway: general primary care and high-need specialty pathway (pathway 1) residency medical specialty: psychiatry residency format: rural residency program (RTP) - new program seeking acgme accreditation for the first time sponsoring institution name, location, and acgme sponsor code: comanche county hospital authority will be the sponsoring entity, either alone or as part of a consortium, to be determined during the first nine months. Lchc/comanche county hospital authority will evaluate whether to (1) seek acgme institutional accreditation as its own sponsoring institution or (2) form or join a GME consortium with an academic partner such as oklahoma state university center for health sciences and/or the osteopathic medical education consortium of oklahoma (omeco). No acgme sponsor code currently exists, as ccha currently administers two (2) residency programs for the sponsoring institution, OSU. Rural target county or counties: tillman county, oklahoma (anchor site), and adjacent portions of comanche, jackson, kiowa, and cotton counties funding amount requested: $750,000 program sustainability option(s): option 2 (medicare GME cap increase for a new rural residency program) and option 5 (medicare reasonable-cost payments for critical access hospitals) projected total number of residents: 12 (3 residents per class, 4-year psychiatry program, at full complement) expected acgme accreditation and first resident matriculation dates: acgme application submitted by the end of year 2; program established and accredited by the end of the period of performance (7/31/2029); first resident class matriculating in the academic year beginning in 2030. Recent hrsa awards (last 5 years): nurse education, practice, quality and retention simulation education training program; health center program; FY 2021 ending the HIV epidemic - primary care HIV prevention; accelerating cancer screening; FY 2023 bridge access program; american rescue plan act funding for health centers health center infrastructure support lawton community health center (lchc), a federally qualified health center operated by the comanche county hospital authority, will plan, develop, and achieve acgme accreditation for a new rural psychiatry residency program serving southwest oklahoma. The program will be anchored at memorial health of tillman county, a new ccha critical access hospital opening in frederick, oklahoma, in late 2026, and at lchc's fqhc clinical sites, with more than 50% of resident training occurring at rural sites as defined by hrsa's federal office of rural health policy. The service area, centered on frontier tillman county, carries a mental health hpsa score of 15 and a primary care hpsa score of 18, with comparably high scores across adjacent cotton, jackson, kiowa, and stephens counties; oklahoma's psychiatric prescriber supply is roughly one-third of estimated need, and no rural psychiatry residency currently exists in southwest oklahoma. During the 3-year period of performance, lchc will appoint a residency program director, determine best sponsoring institution arrangement based on financial sustainability analysis, submit an acgme sponsoring institution application, and submit the acgme program application; finalize a validated sustainability plan built on medicare GME cap and/or critical access hospital reasonable-cost payment mechanisms; and expand its existing graduate tracking system to publicly report resident career outcomes and rural retention for at least 5 years after the first graduating class. The project will produce one new accredited rural psychiatry residency training up to 12 residents at full complement and a replicable model for sustaining psychiatric graduate medical education in a frontier critical access hospital setting.