06/02/2026
*๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ $1.5M
KDHE AWARDS NEARLY $80M TO STRENGTHEN RURAL HEALTH CARE ACROSS KANSAS THROUGH THE KANSAS RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM
Topeka - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recently announced the recipients of the Regional Partnerships Grant Program (RPGP) and Rural Emergency Hospital Conversion/Transformative Capital Investment Program (REH/CAP) grants through the Kansas Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). In total, $79.1 million is being awarded to 39 organizations across the state, representing a major investment in strengthening access to care across rural Kansas.
RHTP is a five-year opportunity created to infuse $50 billion nationwide into state health care systems and bolster rural communities by improving the access to and quality of care available to them. Kansas received the sixth-highest award and has since been implementing its Year 1 RHTP initiatives in an expeditious and effective manner, which directs targeted resources to high-need areas throughout the state, with a focus on sustaining critical, high-quality health care access and services for rural Kansas.
โThese investments reflect the power of collaboration and long-term planning in addressing the unique health care needs of rural Kansas communities,โ Governor Laura Kelly said. โBy supporting regional partnerships, rural hospitals, and critical infrastructure improvements, the Rural Health Transformation Program is empowering communities to strengthen local health systems, improve access to high-quality care, and build a more sustainable future for rural Kansans.โ
KDHE awarded $50 million in RPGP grants to 22 rural health care organizations across the state, fostering collaborative arrangements between a Kansas-based organization and at least one eligible provider to propose transformative projects that support rural communities. These arrangements will promote preventive health care, address the root causes of disease, enhance rural providersโ efficiency and sustainability, attract and retain a highly skilled health care workforce, spark the growth of value-based care models, and foster the use of innovative technologies.
โThe Rural Health Transformation Program is helping communities across Kansas strengthen and sustain access to quality health care through innovative partnerships and strategic investments,โ KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek said. โBy supporting collaborative solutions and critical hospital infrastructure, these investments equip rural providers to meet the evolving needs of Kansans while improving access to care and building healthier futures across our state.โ
In addition, the REH/CAP grant provides funding to facilities that have been converted to, or are in the process of converting to, REH status, and provides other eligible providers with funds to make capital investments to transform how they serve their communities.
A total of $29.1 million was awarded to 17 rural health care organizations across the state to support innovative approaches to sustaining rural health care delivery, improving patient outcomes, and ensuring long-term financial stability for critical access facilities.
โStrong rural health systems and community partnerships are essential to ensuring older adults, individuals with disabilities, and families across Kansas can access the care and support they need close to home,โ Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services Secretary Laura Howard said. โThese investments strengthen local systems of care, encourage collaborative solutions, and support health care networks that improve quality of life and allow Kansans to remain healthy, connected, and cared for in their communities.โ
The 2026 RPGP Awardees are below. For project descriptions, please visit www.kdhe.ks.gov/rhtp.
โข Childrenโs Mercy Hospital: $6,096,062
โข Stormont Vail Health: $5,465,969
โข Great Plains Health Alliance: $5,000,000
โข Recovery Unlimited: $4,290,000
โข Garden City Community College: $3,439,901
โข Citizens Foundation (Citizens Health): $2,832,423
โข Special Olympics Kansas: $2,546,981
โข Clay County Medical Center: $2,536,000
โข Coffeyville Regional Medical Center: $2,500,000
โข InterHab (StationMD): $2,028,980
โข Iroquois Center for Human Development: $1,720,957
โข High Plains Mental Health Center: $1,660,879
โข Greeley County Health Services: $1,541,906
โข Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities: $1,460,000
โข AdventHealth Ottawa: $1,395,814
โข Labette County Medical Center: $1,383,289
โข Kanza Mental Health & Guidance Center: $1,354,975
โข Salina Regional Health Center: $932,310
โข Mercy Hospital Pittsburg: $681,711
โข Kansas Health Science University: $677,248
โข InterHab (CIDDH Curriculum): $196,650
โข Grace Team: $173,355
The 2026 REH/CAP Awardees are below. For project descriptions, please visit www.kdhe.ks.gov/rhtp.
โข Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System: $3,000,000
โข Gove County Medical Center: $3,000,000
โข Clara Barton Medical Center: $2,933,500
โข Pratt Regional Medical Center: $2,869,082
โข Freeman Fort Scott Hospital: $2,502,999.40
โข Hays Medical Center: $2,478,316
โข South Central Kansas Health: $2,378,188
โข Labette Health: $2,145,677
โข PrairieStar Health Center: $1,987,287
โข Wilson Medical Center: $1,555,143.45
โข ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ: $๐ญ,๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ,๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ
โข Hillsboro Community Hospital: $837,000
โข Smith County Memorial Hospital: $550,000
โข Greeley County Health Services: $458,286
โข Mercy Hospital Columbus: $375,981
โข Ashland District Hospital: $361,478.86
โข Compass Behavioral Health: $165,000
Awardees were selected through a competitive application process that evaluated proposals based on community need, long-term financial sustainability, innovation, and alignment with federal and state rural health priorities. KDHE received 72 applications for REH/CAP and 80 applications for RPGP, reflecting strong interest and urgency among rural providers seeking solutions to ongoing workforce, financial, and access challenges.
These grants are part of KDHEโs broader Rural Health Transformation Program, which focuses on supporting long-term, community-driven solutions that ensure rural Kansans have access to high-quality, timely care close to home.
The five Kansas RHTP initiatives were designed to improve the health and sustainability of rural communities statewide:
โข Improve rural Kansasโ health outcomes and transform the delivery system by implementing and sustaining initiatives that promote preventive health care and address root causes of diseases.
โข Enhance rural health care providersโ efficiency and sustainability.
โข Attract and retain a highly skilled health care workforce.
โข Spark growth of innovative care models in rural communities that improve the quality of care while reducing costs.
โข Foster the use of innovative technologies to increase access to care for rural Kansans.
To learn more about KDHEโs commitment to protecting and improving the health and environment of all Kansans through the RHTP, visit: Rural Health Transformation Program.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ & ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด (๐๐๐) ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐.๐. ๐๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด (๐๐๐) ๐ข๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ
๐ต๐ฐ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ $221,898,007.82 ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ 100 ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐๐/๐๐๐. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ(๐ด) ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐๐/๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐.๐. ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต.
Memorial Health System
