Sanders Announces $54.6 Million Awarded in Rural Health Transformation Funds

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders today announced $54.6 million in awards to recipients of the second round of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) grants, established through President Donald J. Trump’s One, Big, Beautiful Bill.

$27.4 million will be awarded to 30 projects through the Healthy Eating, Active Recreation & Transformation (HEART) initiative and $27.2 million for 24 projects through the Recruitment, Innovation Skills, and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR) initiative. Combined with the previous round of funding through the Telehealth, Health-Monitoring, and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE) and the Promoting Access Coordination and Transformation (PACT) priority, this round of funding completes the distribution of the $208 million awarded to Arkansas this year.

Over the next five years, Governor Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) anticipate that Arkansas will receive approximately $1 billion in RHTP funding to strengthen rural health. Funding will impact all 75 Arkansas counties and will support education systems, rural hospitals, community health centers, faith-based partnerships, and nonprofit organizations serving communities across Arkansas.

“Transforming rural health care starts long before a patient walks through the hospital doors,” said Governor Sanders. “Thanks to President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts, we’re strengthening rural health care from the ground up – building healthier communities, growing our health care workforce, and giving providers the tools they need to better serve their patients. These projects will help Arkansans live healthier lives and build a stronger rural health care system for generations to come.”

“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is helping states like Arkansas develop innovative, locally driven solutions to improve rural Americans’ access to high-quality care,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “These grant awards demonstrate how this historic investment is empowering rural communities to strengthen their health systems, put patients first, and bring better care closer to home.”

“Under Governor Sanders’ leadership, Arkansas put rural communities at the center of our Rural Health Transformation Program,” said DFA Secretary Jim Hudson. “Before accepting a single application, we held ten roadshow meetings across the state to hear directly from EMTs, nurses, hospital leaders, and other healthcare professionals. Their insight shaped the projects announced today. These investments in the HEART and RISE AR initiatives will strengthen rural healthcare and improve the lives of Arkansans for years to come.”

HEART focuses on improving health outcomes and access to preventative care through community-based nutrition, physical activity, and chronic disease management. Project outlines include expanding access to local produce through collaboration with farmers and producers, establishing food pantries and food distribution sites, creating nutrition and physical activity education resources, expanding preventative care services, and leveraging churches, schools, clinics, farmers, and other community partners. Together, these projects will help address food insecurity, reduce chronic disease, and give more Arkansans the resources and opportunities to live healthier lives.

Governor Sanders has made improving nutrition, expanding access to healthy food, and encouraging more active lifestyles key priorities of her administration. Last year, she signed legislation to guarantee free breakfast for every Arkansas public school student and continued Summer EBT to help address food insecurity. She worked with President Trump and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make Arkansas one of the first states in the nation to remove soft drinks and candy from food stamps. The Governor also launched the Arkansas Plate and Rice in Schools initiatives to put healthier, Arkansas-grown food on students’ plates and connect schools with local farmers and producers. This month, alongside University of Arkansas Head Basketball Coach John Calipari joined the Governor in Mountain Home to announce the winners of the #RazorbackReady2026 Challenge, encouraging students to get active and build healthy habits early as the Presidential Fitness Test is reinstated in the curriculum.

RISE AR strengthens rural health care workforce by expanding physician residencies and other clinical training programs, recruiting and retaining rural health care professionals, and providing specialized training for rural hospitals and clinics. These projects will strengthen the pipeline of health care professionals serving rural communities and help build a skilled, sustainable talent force to meet Arkansas’ long-term needs.

The HEART grant recipients are:

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Food is Medicine for Rural Cancer Prevention and Care (Pulaski, Washington, and Johnson counties) will establish a farm-to-clinic program providing locally sourced produce prescriptions, community gardens, and culinary medicine education for cancer survivors and providers. – $793,830.00
Arkansas Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc.: Healthy Futures for Arkansas Youth (Desha, Chicot, Logan, Scott, Ashley, Hot Spring, Phillips, Pope, Benton, Union, Jefferson, Columbia, Yell, and Garland counties) will expand recreation, nutrition education, screenings, and behavioral health support across 25 rural Boys & Girls Club sites, extended by a Mobile Clubhouse to communities without an out-of-school-time program, helping address a gap affecting more than 25,000 rural students. – $930,000.00
Arkansas Foodbank: Beyond the Pantry: Transforming Rural Health through Community Resource Centers (Conway, White, Lee, Chicot, Lincoln, Union, Clark, Montgomery, Jefferson, Cleburne, Phillips, and Bradley counties) will convert rural food pantries into Community Resource Centers providing nutritious food, health care connections, and education. Food is Medicine partnerships, incentive grants, and local farmer relationships will expand healthy food access and strengthen pantry capacity. – $1,382,100.00
White River Health System, Inc.: Healthy Eating & Food as Medicine – Regional Food System, Produce Prescription & Community Wellness (Sharp, Stone, Jackson, Cleburne, Izard, and Lawrence counties) will build an integrated Food as Medicine system designed to improve chronic disease outcomes and create sustainable markets for local farmers by linking clinical screening, produce prescriptions, culinary medicine, and community health worker support with regional food production and distribution infrastructure. – $2,942,715.00
Every Arkansan, Inc.: EA FAITH and HEART (Pulaski, Faulkner, Conway, Perry, Pope, and Cleburne counties) will embed 10 community health workers in churches and pregnancy resource centers to connect rural families with healthcare, telehealth, transportation, and community resources. – $1,004,348.10
Heartland Whole Health Institute: Arkansas Health Care Transformation Demonstration Project: Heartland Whole Health Connect (Benton, Washington, Boone, Carroll, Newton, Jackson, Mississippi, Cross, Craighead, Greene, Clay, Poinsett, Sharp, Sebastian, Logan, Franklin, Crawford, Scott, Baxter, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Madison, Marion, Searcy, Stone, and Van Buren counties) will coordinate providers and pharmacists to expand telehealth, disease management, preventative care, and value-based care. Funds will support partner implementation, while Heartland independently funds curriculum development and program administration to promote sustainability. – $8,420,000.00
Arkansas Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics Foundation: Equipping Rural Pediatricians with Prevention of Obesity and Well-being Support (Pediatrician POWS) (statewide) will equip rural clinicians to prevent and treat childhood obesity through two new HealthySteps sites, targeted media, education, a rural pediatric health conference, an eight-month webinar series, clinic staff training, and 80 breast pumps for rural clinics. – $228,525.00
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Mobile Faith Rural Health Outreach Program (Mobile Faith) (statewide) will deliver preventative screenings, health education, referral coordination, and chronic disease support through mobile outreach relying on trusted faith-based partnerships and community health workers to reach rural residents. – $1,100,000.00
ARFuture Foundation: Rural Outreach, Obstetrics & Traditional Skills Initiative (R.O.O.T.S) will develop a faith-based network of churches, pregnancy help organizations, and community partners offering maternal health, fatherhood, lifestyle, and food-skills education, including 25 community classrooms in high-need rural areas and mobile screening services. – $805,375.00
Arkansas Rural Health Partnership: ARHP Good Food RX Rural Health Collaborative (Arkansas, Sevier, Hempstead, Union, Columbia, Howard, Jefferson, and Little River counties) will open a Food Pharmacy at DeWitt Hospital and prepare implementation roadmaps for six additional rural hospitals. The project integrates screening, EHR referrals, nutrition services, and care coordination, while food purchases will be supported through separately funded sources. – $110,860.00
Southeast Arkansas Delta Solutions Community Development Organizations (SEADS): Delta Table: A Food as Medicine Network for South and Southeast Arkansas (Drew, Chicot, Arkansas, and Ouachita counties) will create four church-based Food as Medicine distribution sites supporting refrigeration, a refrigerated van, a teaching kitchen, dietitian-developed food bundles, education, and program management. – $225,180.00
Italians of Sunnyside Foundation: La Dolce Vita: A Heritage Health Program (Chicot County) will promote healthy living across the lifespan through Mediterranean-style nutrition and food access, physical activity and a community 5k, and child-focused education and screenings. The program draws on the community’s long-lived residents and uses intergenerational activities to reinforce healthy habits. – $348,016.00
Deckmax dba North Arkansas Rural Health Consortium: North Arkansas Rural Health Consortium (Baxter County) will coordinate independent rural providers to reduce fragmentation and improve preventative, primary, specialty, and outpatient care. Its HEART work will expand the Vitality Plus Wellness Center and community partnerships centered on nutrition, exercise, and comprehensive rural wellness. – $1,000,000.00
Jefferson Hospital Association: Jefferson Regional Community Wellness Trail & Outdoor Fitness Initiative (Jefferson County) will upgrade its walking trail and add an accessible outdoor fitness park and covered wellness pavilion. Free physician-referred walking, fitness, screening, and prevention programs will create a permanent regional resource for physical activity and chronic disease reduction. – $360,000.00
Subiaco Abbey: Subiaco Abbey Rural Wellness Campus (Logan County) will create a rural wellness campus by improving its trail system, building an accessible wellness pavilion, and developing healthy food systems and a pollinator education center to support recreation, preventative health programming, nutrition education, and community engagement throughout rural western Arkansas. – $345,500.00
Arkansas Baptist Children and Family Ministries: The Arkansas Family Wellness Initiative (Craighead and Boone counties) will equip rural churches to strengthen families through marriage, parenting, life-skills, foster-parent, and leadership programming. A statewide resource library and continued development of the Arkansas Baptist Ranch as a wellness hub will support sustained education, nutrition, recreation, and family resilience. – $394,343.00
Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas: Cooperative Extension: The ROOT of Rural Health (Rural Outreach, Opportunity, and Transformation) (statewide) will use Cooperative Extension’s statewide presence to deliver coordinated child wellness, physical activity, faith-based outreach, health literacy, and chronic disease initiatives. The project expects to reach 30,000-50,000 rural residents annually, engage more than 300 partners, and deliver over 2,000 health-promotion activities. – $2,645,425.00
AFMC: AFMC Project LIGHT (Leading Innovation for Growth, Health, and Transformation) (White County) will establish Community Wellness Hubs in five White County faith organizations, each guided by a local assessment, action plan, and trained Wellness Champions. By September 2027, the project targets 50 activities, 2,500 residents, 500 screenings, and 100 referrals while testing a model for broader replication. – $461,201.00
Mosaic Conway Church: Mosaic Faith Access and Health Navigation Initiative (Faulkner County) will operate a faith-based health access and navigation program serving congregations within 50 miles of Conway. The model combines education, preventive screenings, transportation, referrals, and structured follow-up through a program director, two health navigators, and contracted clinical partners. – $301,198.00
Arkansas Rural Health Partnership: ARHP: Rural Youth Mental Health Capacity Building Project 2026 (statewide) will use Youth Mental Health First Aid to train trusted rural adults to recognize warning signs, provide initial support, and connect youth and families to care. A train-the-trainer approach will build durable local capacity across healthcare, education, faith, emergency response, and youth-serving organizations. – $339,797.00
Arkansas Cancer Coalition: Screening Arkansas: Building Rural Capacity for Cancer Screening, Navigation, and Access (Pulaski, Crittenden, and Lee counties) will strengthen breast, colorectal, and lung cancer screening systems across rural eastern Arkansas. Participating clinics and partners will improve outreach, reminders, navigation, referrals, follow-up, provider education, and transportation coordination to support earlier detection and lasting clinical capacity. – $205,905.00
University of Arkansas: Mobilizing Opportunities for Vital Exercise (MOVE) Project (Logan County) will pilot a 12-week Community Step Challenge in Yellville using fitness technology, incentives, and community engagement. Surveys, stakeholder input, and recreation-infrastructure assessments will guide future facility improvements and a sustainable rural recreation strategy. – $117,323.00
University of Arkansas: Rural PLAY: Building Children’s Physical Literacy and Physical Activity in Rural Arkansas Schools (Marion County) will deliver a structured 12-week physical-activity program to about 150 children at four rural afterschool sites and train approximately 12-16 staff. The evidence-based model is designed to improve physical literacy, motivation, and activity while creating a replicable program for rural communities. – $99,273.00
Samaritan House Community Center, dba Samaritan Community Center: Expanding Healthy Food Access and Nutrition Education in Rural Arkansas (Benton, Carroll, and Madison counties) will expand healthy food access and nutrition education through a new high tunnel, an additional monthly cooking class, chairside dental nutrition education, and healthy food boxes for evening clinic patients. The integrated approach links farm production, teaching, and clinical outreach to support healthier rural families. – $50,000.00
Grand Prairie Health Direct Primary Care, PLLC: Move for Life – A Prescription for Exercise Program (Lonoke County) will convert unused clinic space in Carlisle into a self-access fitness center and launch a physician-directed exercise program paired with nutrition counseling. The project provides equipment, facility improvements, medical clearance, goal setting, and routine tracking in a community with no other indoor gym. – $35,000.00
Studio Drift: MOVE Delta: A Regional Active Recreation Initiative (Cross and Woodruff counties) will connect three primary care providers, nine wellness hubs, and 28 miles of activity routes across Cross and Woodruff counties. By linking existing parks, sidewalks, trails, and streets to clinical referrals, the initiative will embed physical activity into chronic disease prevention and daily community life. – $1,139,200.00
St. Bernards Development Foundation: St. Bernards Rural Health and Wellness Network (Cross, Mississippi, and Craighead counties) will expand preventive education, screenings, navigation, physical activity, and healthy-aging services across Northeast Arkansas. School, faith, community, wellness-center, and technology investments will improve early risk identification, referrals, and chronic disease support under GROW Kids, MOVE, FAITH, and IMPACT. – $947,727.00
The Produce Porch: The Produce Porch Community Wellness Hub (Woodruff County) a food-as-medicine initiative including partnerships with Arcare, the Woodruff County Food Bank, and McCrory High School FFA. Proposed partner activities include participant referrals, community outreach, nutrition education support, and community engagement activities. – $200,500.00
Apple Seeds, Inc.: Rural Farm to School Program (Washington and Madison counties) will implement a scalable Rural Farm to School program advancing the HEART initiative by expanding access to preventative nutrition services, strengthening school food systems, and improving community access to healthy foods. – $301,259.00
Ozark Health Hub: Ozark Healthy Hub (Madison County) will improve nutrition access by establishing farm store locations in Huntsville and Saint Paul, implementing a healthy smoothie and nutrition program, providing monthly health screenings, operating the Children’s Grow and Wellness Program, conducting farm-to-school activities and orchard field trips, hosting annual Healthy Food Festivals, supporting local farmers, and offering community wellness and education opportunities. – $237,000.00

The RISE AR grant recipients are:

Arkansas Rural Health Partnership: Arkansas Rural Healthcare Leadership Institute (ARHLI) (statewide) will establish the Arkansas Rural Healthcare Leadership Institute as a permanent statewide platform for governance education, executive development, fellowships, technical assistance, and peer collaboration to strengthen rural healthcare leadership, succession planning, retention, and organizational capacity to sustain transformation investments. – $1,598,008.00
Baptist Health: GME Family Medicine Rural Track Expansion (Clark County) Baptist Health and UAMS will develop an ACGME-accredited Family Medicine Rural Track Program in Arkadelphia, including an enhanced maternal health and obstetrics pathway serving nine rural counties. The program plans to add nine residency slots, enroll its first class in July 2028, and retain at least half of graduates in rural practice. – $418,883.00
Conway Regional Health System: Rural Lactation Workforce Certification Initiative (Faulkner and Yell counties) will create a three-tier lactation training pathway for maternal nurses serving North Central Arkansas and the River Valley, training approximately 90 Certified Breastfeeding Specialists, advancing 30 nurses toward consultant training, and building an estimated 15 IBCLCs over time. – $159,130.00
Conway Regional Health System: Conway Regional Health System Graduate Medical Education Rural Education and Training Enhancement (Faulkner and Yell counties) will acquire portable simulation equipment and upgraded audiovisual technology to strengthen graduate medical education across its primary and rural affiliate sites. The project will expand standardized hands-on training and remote collaboration for 33 residents and 16 faculty members, with an emphasis on the Rural Family Medicine Training Track. – $203, 520.00
Conway Regional Health System: Rural Nursing Clinical Excellence Initiative (Faulkner and Yell counties) will expand its nursing certification program into a structured workforce pathway combining mentorship, certification support, leadership development, and workforce planning. A dedicated coordinator and departmental champions will help recruit, retain, and advance nurses across Conway Regional and Dardanelle Regional Medical Center. – $278,250.00
Conway Regional Health System: Rural Practice Incentive Program (Faulkner and Yell counties) will provide $15,000 incentives to two Rural Family Medicine residents and conduct targeted recruitment for its rural training track. The project is intended to increase rural residency participation and encourage physicians to remain in underserved Arkansas communities. – $120,540.00
Jefferson Hospital Association: Jefferson Regional Rural Clinical Workforce Recruitment, Advancement & Retention Initiative (Jefferson County) will implement a regional workforce strategy addressing shortages in nursing, medical assisting, imaging, and specialty care. Investments in recruitment, scholarships, certification, employee wellness, preceptor training, and leadership development will create a more stable workforce pipeline for Southeast Arkansas. – $670,000.00
Arkansas Doulas, LLC.: Arkansas Rural Doula Workforce Investment Model (statewide) will create a statewide pipeline of apprentices, fellows, and clinical supervisors serving medically underserved communities, providing certification support, paid training, mentorship, and regional partnerships to expand access to culturally responsive prenatal, birth, and postpartum services in rural Arkansas. – $850,000.00
Mississippi County Hospital System: MCHS RISE (Mississippi County) will combine physician-training infrastructure, rural leadership development, and employee recruitment and retention support across its Blytheville and Osceola hospitals. The project includes renovating 12,040 square feet for a rural training site, supporting CNO certification, and providing student-loan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness assistance. – $4,402,000.00
New York Institute of Technology: Establishing a Family Medicine residency in Blytheville to improve care in Mississippi County (Craighead and Mississippi counties) NYITCOM at Arkansas State University will partner with Mississippi County Hospital System and St. Bernards to establish a Family Medicine Rural Track Program in Blytheville. The program will train residents in rural primary care, obstetrics, pediatrics, telemedicine, and chronic disease management while creating a sustainable physician pipeline for the Delta. – $2,891,991.00
New York Institute of Technology: NYITCOM EMS Education Alliance (Mississippi, Hot Spring, Union, and Randolph counties) will expand EMT and paramedic education into rural Arkansas through a hub-and-spoke partnership with four two-year colleges. NYIT will serve as the sponsoring institution and deliver curriculum and faculty support while local colleges recruit and enroll students in their regions. – $847,760.00
North Arkansas Regional Medical Center: NARMC Rural Health Workforce Transformation Initiative (Boone, Newton, and Carroll counties) will implement four coordinated initiatives supporting paramedic advancement, employee retention, leadership development, and certifications for new oncology, emergency, and behavioral health services. The strategy targets high turnover, contract-labor expense, and EMS overtime while building the workforce needed for NARMC’s broader transformation plan. – $1,629,128.00
OUACHITA REGIONAL COUNSELING AND MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, INC. dba Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness: Grow, Train, and Retain: Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Initiative (Garland, Hot Spring, Clark, and Montgomery counties) will address rural behavioral health shortages through coordinated recruitment, retention, specialized training, and leadership development. The project will recruit psychiatric leadership, strengthen internships and supervision, reduce turnover, and expand access to evidence-based behavioral health services across five counties. – $1,427,718.09
St. Bernards Development Foundation: St. Bernards Rural Care Workforce Network (Cross, Randolph, Lawrence, and Craighead counties) will integrate clinical simulation, leadership development, career advancement, and recruitment across Northeast Arkansas while establishing a psychiatry residency and family medicine emergency medicine fellowship and supporting physician recruitment and tele-hospitalist coverage. – $3,851,347.00
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Bridges to Care: Arkansas Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Collaborative (statewide) will provide free, evidence-based behavioral health and substance-use training to rural clinicians, peers, school professionals, court teams, and faith leaders. Statewide in-person, virtual, and on-demand training will strengthen local capacity to address youth substance use, trauma, mental illness, and team-based care. – $1,230,685.00
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Family Medicine Obstetrics (FMOB) Fellowship (Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, and Woodruff counties) will train two family physicians annually to provide comprehensive maternity care in rural Arkansas. Based at St. Bernards Medical Center, the program is designed for expansion to additional rural sites and will launch fellows in July 2027. – $536,294.00
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Cultivating Arkansas’ Pathways (CAP) to Nursing Excellence (statewide) will expand rural nursing education from entry-level preparation through advanced practice. The project will develop accelerated and streamlined degree pathways, create mentorship tracks in high-need specialties, and recruit students likely to remain in rural practice. – $817,684.00
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences: Certificate in Rural Healthcare Management Program (statewide) will create a fully online, five-course certificate in rural healthcare management for current and aspiring rural health leaders. Funding will support program development, recruitment, advising, tuition, books, supplies, and professional membership to reduce participation barriers for rural organizations and trainees. – $590,369.00
White County Medical Center: Unity Health SKILL-UP Workforce Development Project (White, Jackson, Pulaski, Cleburne, and Lonoke counties) will consolidate three employee education programs into a systemwide pipeline for nursing and allied health careers. New workforce staff and 23 additional education awards will double annual capacity, improve retention, and help fill high-need clinical positions with employees already rooted in rural Arkansas. – $142,424.00
White County Medical Center: Unity Health Gastroenterology Workforce and Advanced GI Access Initiative (White County) will sponsor one year of gastroenterology fellowship training for a physician who has committed to return to Searcy for at least five years, expanding the system from one to two gastroenterologists and reducing substantial specialty-care delays for approximately 250,000 residents. – $158,502.15
White River Health System, Inc.: White River Health Year 1 RISE Initiatives (Independence, Stone, Jackson, and Sharp counties) are 13 projects across LEAD, PATHWAY, RETAIN, and SKILL-UP to strengthen recruitment, training, retention, and career development. The portfolio addresses workforce needs in behavioral health, nursing, laboratory science, spiritual care, and physician services across six medically underserved counties and neighboring rural areas. – $2,113,815.50
Arkansas Surgical Hospital: RISE: Rural Access Through Provider Recruitment (Union County) will recruit, place, and onboard two primary care physicians, intended to expand access to primary care in rural and underserved Arkansas communities. – $473,000.00
GoodLife Innovations, Inc.: Rural Caregiver Workforce Network (Washington County) will stabilize the rural caregiver workforce through expanded recruitment, structured onboarding, continuing education, technology-enabled support, and a secure learning network. A supplemental caregiver pool will provide coverage during absences and emergencies, improving workforce reliability and service access. – $802,420.00
CARTI: CARTI Health and Research Institute (Pulaski, Union, Jefferson, Pope, Cleburne, Faulkner, Johnson, Van Buren, Ashley, Columbia, Saline, White, Arkansas, and Dallas counties) will build specialized oncology workforce capacity through research staffing and clinical training equipment at its Health and Research Institute by preparing professionals in oncology-related fields for service across CARTI’s rural network while pairing workforce investments with supporting infrastructure. – $1,000,000.00

Project specifics are based off recipient organizations’ applications and the details of each grant will not be finalized until DFA signs an official agreement with each grantee.

This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $208,779,396.02, with 100% funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.

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