Rural residency planning and development program

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professionals awarded the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) $750,000 on August 1, 2026, under the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (HRSA-26-047) to plan and develop a new rural preventive medicine residency program in Nevada.

NNPHI, a nonprofit public health institute headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, will partner with the Northern Nevada Institute for Public Health (NPHI), based in Gardnerville, Nevada, as the implementing partner and with William Bee Ririe Hospital, a rural critical access hospital, as the clinical training site. The program targets White Pine, Churchill, Mineral, Eureka, and Pershing counties in Nevada and seeks initial ACGME accreditation for a public health and general preventive medicine residency in the general primary care and high-need specialty pathway. The sponsoring institution will be confirmed during year one, with Roseman University College of Medicine as the lead candidate. The program projects three residents in the first class, scaling to up to six once fully established, with initial ACGME accreditation targeted by August 31, 2029, and the first resident class anticipated to matriculate in academic year 2029–2030.

The award period runs September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2029. Sustainability will rely on critical access hospital reasonable-cost reimbursement and public/private funding mechanisms.

Abstract

Summary hrsa-26-047 rural residency planning and development program entity name: national network of public health institutes (nnphi) address: 1100 poydras street, STE 950, new orleans, LA 70163 implementing partner: northern nevada institute for public health DBA nevada public health institute (nphi), gardnerville, NV PD/PI: erin marziale, MPH nevada project lead/residency program director: gerold dermid, MBA, PHD(c) program manager: danika williams, PHD, MPH project title: nevada rural preventive medicine residency planning and development program period of performance: 09/01/2026-08/31/2029 funding requested: $750,000 required summary items applicant facility type: other: nonprofit public health institute applicant/fiscal sponsor, with william BEE ririe hospital, a rural critical access hospital, as the clinical training site. Program pathway: pathway 1, general primary care and high-need specialty. Residency specialty: public health and general preventive medicine. Residency format: new rural residency program, non-RTP, seeking initial acgme accreditation. Sponsoring institution: to be confirmed during year 1; lead candidate roseman university college of medicine. Acgme sponsor program code pending. Rural target counties: white pine, churchill, mineral, eureka, and pershing. Sustainability option: option 5, CAH reasonable-cost reimbursement, with option 6 public/private funding; option 3 pursued only if legally applicable. Projected residents: 3 in first class; up to 6 once fully established. Expected accreditation/matriculation: initial acgme accreditation by 08/31/2029; first resident class by the first academic year after the period of performance, target AY 2029-2030. Recent hrsa awards: nphi is a subawardee through university of arizona hrsa-22-055 regional public health training centers program, july 2022-june 2026. Project abstract nnphi requests $749,567 to create the nevada rural preventive medicine residency program, a new rural residency in public health and general preventive medicine. Nnphi will serve as applicant and fiscal sponsor. Nphi will lead nevada-based planning, partnerships, accreditation readiness, program design, and launch planning. Rural and frontier nevada communities face physician shortages, limited infrastructure, geographic isolation, and barriers to preventive care. The program will address needs in primary care, behavioral health, maternal health, geriatrics, and chronic disease prevention by training physicians to integrate clinical prevention, public health practice, population health, and health systems improvement. William BEE ririe hospital in ELY will serve as the core rural clinical training site. Central nevada health district will serve as the public health practicum partner across churchill, mineral, eureka, and pershing counties. All training occurs at rural sites, exceeding hrsa's greater-than-50% rural training threshold. Partners include UNR school of public health, roseman university college of medicine, and acpm. During the period of performance, nnphi and nphi will complete the work needed to establish and accredit the program. Year 1 will complete the needs assessment, planning committee, sponsoring institution pathway, program director appointment, service delivery model, agreements, MPH pathway, and pro forma. Year 2 will complete curriculum and faculty/preceptor development, acgme application submission, graduate tracking plan, and sustainability validation. Year 3 will complete accreditation, recruitment, sustainability commitments, and launch readiness. By 08/31/2029, the program will be an established acgme-accredited rural preventive medicine residency with a rural training model, validated sustainability plan, and graduate tracking plan to report career outcomes for at least five years. Long term, the program will increase rural physicians, strengthen public health capacity, and improve access to preventive services in rural nevada.