SCDHHS Announces Rural Health Transformation Program Funding Opportunities

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) today published funding opportunities available through South Carolina's Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP). The RHTP was created under Section 71401 of Public Law 119-21 under the Working Families Tax Cut legislation, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The opportunities are available through grants offered under four of the state's RHTP initiatives: Connections to Care, Wellness Within Reach, Leveling up and Shoring Up to Sustainability. These initiatives are part of South Carolina's bold strategy to modernize rural healthcare infrastructure and build a resilient, sustainable healthcare system that will ensure lasting access to quality health care for the one-in-three South Carolinians who live in a rural area.

Eligible applicants include healthcare providers, community-based organizations, non-profit organizations, local government and public health entities and other entities committed to improving rural health care delivery. Funding will be provided as one-time infrastructure and capacity-building grants. Each grant opportunity will outline initiative-specific goals, expected outcomes, and allowable uses of funds using standardized evaluation criteria established by SCDHHS and aligned with RHTP goals and guidelines.

Applications for these grants are now available on the RHTP page of SCDHHS' website at www.scdhhs.gov/RHTP. The deadline for applications to be submitted for each of these grants is June 1, 2026. Applications can be submitted through email to [email protected].

SCDHHS hosted a public webinar to describe the grant opportunities March 24, 2026. A recording of the webinar, along with details on eligibility, application requirements and deadlines, is available on the RHTP page of SCDHHS' website.

Descriptions of the four RHTP initiatives for which grant opportunities are available, along with links to each corresponding application, are listed below.

Connections to Care

Expands digital infrastructure by implementing electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, telehealth services and a statewide resource database platform to improve care coordination and access

Connections to Care Grant Application

Leveling Up

Scales successful pilot programs statewide, focusing on chronic disease management, pediatric care quality and workforce development

Leveling Up Grant Application

Wellness Within Reach

Deploys mobile health units, crisis response teams and pop-up clinics to bring care directly to underserved populations

Wellness Within Reach Grant Application

Shoring Up to Sustainability

Strengthens rural healthcare systems through targeted investments in workforce recruitment and retention, facility upgrades and provider training

Shoring Up to Sustainability Grant Application

Funding opportunities for the fifth of South Carolina's RHTP initiatives, the Tech Catalyst Fund, will be announced through a future stage of SCDHHS' RHTP implementation.

Questions about the RHTP, including about the grant opportunities announced in this bulletin, should be directed to [email protected].

The RHTP 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 $200,030,252.32 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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