Utah’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is a multi-faceted effort aimed at making generational investments to build resilient and sustainable rural health systems, according to a October 23 statement from the Utah Hospital Association.
The program is guided by four strategic pillars: Making Rural Utahns Healthy, Workforce Development, Innovation and Access, and Technology Innovation.
The Utah Healthcare Education & Research Foundation, a 501(c)3 subsidiary of the Utah Hospital Association, is administering four key activities of the RHTP. The program implements seven integrated initiatives to create a rural health ecosystem, including PATH, RISE, SHIFT, FAST, LIFT, SUPPORT, and LINCS.
One initiative, RISE 2.5, is intended to help rural hospitals recruit and retain workforce members through structured incentive awards for high-need professions. This program allows hospitals to choose from a menu of incentive options to strengthen their clinical workforce. The Request for Application (RFA) for this initiative describes eligibility requirements and a five-year service commitment required by some incentive options.
Other initiatives include SHIFT 3.1, which funds capital infrastructure improvements, equipment upgrades, and related planning activities to improve care delivery and keep care local. This includes building alterations for services such as pharmacy, dialysis, behavioral health, cancer care, and maternal health.
The FAST initiatives focus on financial and specialty care access. FAST 4.2 aims to strengthen financial systems through revenue cycle optimization, such as denials management and coding training. FAST 4.3 is a specialty care pilot that provides per diem payments to specialists delivering on-site specialty care at small rural hospitals and clinics to mitigate financial risk during the start-up phase.
The Rural Health Transformation Program is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The program is part of a financial assistance award totaling $195,743,566.29, which is 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS.
The Utah Hospital Association provided technical assistance webinars for grantees on November 2, 2026, and November 3, 2026. These sessions were designed to go through RFA guidance, the application process, and the timeline for those applying for grants.
