Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program | HRSA 24 082

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 24 082

The Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program (HRSA-24-082) is a federal grant opportunity from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designed to strengthen health care access in rural communities by helping rural hospitals expand or improve key clinical service lines. Instead of primarily funding direct hospital operations across many sites, the program is structured around funding a technical assistance (TA) provider (or providers) that will work closely with individual rural hospitals. The overall intent is practical: help rural hospitals add services that local residents need so patients can receive care closer to home, while also increasing patient volume and revenue in ways that make the hospital more financially sustainable over time.

At the center of the program is hands-on, in-depth technical assistance paired with support to launch new or expanded service lines. HRSA highlights a range of examples that rural hospitals might build out depending on community need, including pulmonary rehabilitation, infusion and chemotherapy services, inpatient psychiatric care, outpatient behavioral health services, obstetric services, cardiac rehabilitation, and expanded primary care. The emphasis is on selecting service lines that match local demand and can realistically be implemented in a way that improves both clinical access and the hospital's operational and financial position.

The program lays out two main objectives for the funded TA provider(s). First, the TA provider will help participating hospitals identify which clinical areas are the best candidates for expansion, focusing on services that address unmet local medical need, keep care available locally, and improve hospital finances and operations. Second, the TA provider will help hospitals implement the new service lines by supporting early-stage operating and equipment costs. This start-up support is meant to give hospitals enough runway to build patient volume until the added service line can function as a self-sustaining part of the hospital's ongoing business and care model.

HRSA also provides a specific definition of what counts as a "rural hospital" for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Eligible hospitals include short-term, non-federal general hospitals located outside Metropolitan Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), or hospitals located within metropolitan areas but in places with Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes of 4 or higher. Hospitals can also qualify if they participate in Medicare as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) or as Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), regardless of location. In addition, hospitals operated by tribes or tribal organizations under Public Law 93-638 (the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended) may receive technical assistance as long as they meet the program's rural hospital definition.

In terms of who can apply for the grant itself, eligibility is broad across organizational types, as long as the applicant is located in an eligible jurisdiction and meets the NOFO requirements. Applicants may be public or private, nonprofit or for-profit, community-based entities, Native American tribal governments, or Native American tribal organizations. The geographic scope includes the United States and several U.S.-affiliated jurisdictions and freely associated states: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

This is a discretionary grant in the health funding category (Assistance Listing/CFDA 93.155). HRSA anticipates making a single award (Expected Awards: 1), with an award ceiling of $4,000,000. The original application closing date listed for the opportunity is July 26, 2024, and the opportunity was created on June 18, 2024. The practical takeaway is that HRSA is looking to fund one lead entity to deliver structured, high-touch technical assistance and targeted start-up support that helps rural hospitals add services, increase utilization, and stabilize financially while keeping essential care available in rural communities.

• The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.155.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for HRSA 24 082

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