DHS announces Rural Health Transformation Program grant opportunities

Application materials are now available for three Rural Health Transformation Program grants. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) will distribute $40 million in funding during this application period to support projects focused on care coordination, community health workers, and dental clinics.

To learn more about each of these grant funding opportunities and how to apply, visit DHS’s current grant funding opportunities webpage.

The following grant funding opportunities are available:

• Care coordination – applications due August 21, 2026: These grants support new and innovative partnership models that coordinate care across systems and sectors in rural Wisconsin. These grants will address fragmented systems of care and barriers to access care. DHS plans to award up to $10 million in 2026 for a 6-month planning period. Awardees will then be invited to submit a full application for a 4-year program period. The full grant opportunity will be released to planning grant recipients in February 2027, with an estimated $25 million available in the first year pending CMS approval.
• Community health worker – applications due August 7, 2026: These grants support expanded integration and sustainability of community health workers as an evidence-based care model to improve health outcomes in Wisconsin’s rural communities. These grants will increase the quality and number of community health workers in the workforce in rural areas, enhance programs through training and technical assistance, and support strong infrastructure and connections between providers and communities. DHS plans to award $20 million for the first year of funding. Letters of intent are recommended but not required. Letters of intent are due July 1, 2026.
• Rural dental efficiency and access – applications due July 27, 2026: These grants support dental clinics in adopting technologies that improve efficiency and increase access to care in rural and semi-rural communities. These technologies can help to address challenges that rural clinics face by increasing patient service volumes, improving patient comfort, and maximizing the existing dental workforce. DHS plans to award $10 million through this grant opportunity pending CMS approval.

We encourage eligible organizations to review these opportunities and consider applying.

Organizations may request technical assistance with their applications by emailing RHTP-evaluation@wisc.edu. Technical assistance is being provided by the University of Wisconsin-Population Health Institute, Wisconsin Office of Rural Health, and Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and can help with accessing community data, and project evaluation. Those providing technical assistance have no input on funding decisions.

Learn more

For more information and updates, visit the Wisconsin Rural Health Transformation Program webpage.

This program 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 $203,670,005.21 with 100 percent 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.