Texas Announces New Rural Health Grants: 28 Providers to Receive $8.1 Million
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on October 22 in Austin, the state capital, that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) plans to award a new round of Rural Texas Strong grants totaling $8,145,444.89 to 28 rural healthcare providers across Texas. The governor's office said the funding will be available after contracts are finalized, and a list of recipients is available through the HHSC Rural Health Transformation webpage.
According to the governor's office, the funding will advance three initiatives: helping rural hospital districts improve outcomes for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and obesity; supporting rural communities in recruiting, training and retaining physicians, emergency medical professionals and other healthcare workers; and helping rural providers replace aging medical equipment and improve existing facilities. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in the release that a person's address should not determine the quality of care received and that rural Texas will not be left behind. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and HHSC Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth also said in the release that the funding will help rural providers modernize facilities, improve care for people with chronic conditions and retain needed healthcare professionals.
The governor's office said the $8.1 million award is part of the $281,319,360.67 first-year award HHSC received from the CMS Rural Health Transformation Program. Rural Texas Strong, the CMS-approved state plan, is 100 percent federally funded through the program and features six initiatives. The awards are part of an estimated $1.4 billion in federal funding over five years to improve rural healthcare in Texas, with federal funding contingent on meeting applicable program requirements. (GSM, based on the October 22 release from the Office of the Texas Governor)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Austin 的德克萨斯州议会大厦（资料图）。照片：Farragutful，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Texas State Capitol in Austin (file photo). Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
