BISMARCK, N.D. (NORTH DAKOTA MONITOR) – Roughly $10 million is now up for grabs to help North Dakota critical access hospitals retain workers — the first of many grants the state is rolling out under the federally funded Rural Health Transformation Program.
The state anticipates giving out around 37 grants each totaling $270,000, though applicants can apply for more money, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services website. Critical access hospitals can use the funds for purposes as wide ranging as employee bonuses, help with child care, gym memberships and professional development.
“Rural health care workers are the backbone of their communities and play a vital role in helping North Dakota become the healthiest state in the nation,” Pat Traynor, interim commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, said in a Wednesday announcement. “This funding focuses on keeping skilled professionals in communities that rely on them.”
The Rural Health Transformation Program, part of Congress’s budget reconciliation bill, was advertised as a way to partially make up for funding rural states will lose from Medicaid cuts included elsewhere in the legislation. All states will receive at least $500 million from the program, and can receive up to $1 billion.
The grant is open to North Dakota critical access hospitals as well as any clinics they own and operate. Applications are due by April 30, according to the Department of Health and Human Services website.
Proposals will be scored on criteria including the long-term sustainability of the project, how much it’s expected to help rural communities and whether the success of the initiative can be concretely measured. All applications will have to receive approval from both the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
North Dakota has been authorized for $199 million for the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program. The state plans to give out most of that money in the form of grants.
North Dakota lawmakers in January convened for a three-day special session to create a budget for the program, which then was submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for final review.
More opportunities to apply for grants — which will focus on topics including expanding rural health care access, promoting healthy lifestyles and investing in technology and data — will become available soon, according to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services website.
The agency will soon launch two surveys on North Dakota rural health care workforce and infrastructure needs to help it plan future grants.
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