Texas has announced the first round of Rural Texas Strong grant awards, distributing $51 million in federal funding to rural hospital districts and authorities.
The funding will help create or improve community-based prevention, wellness and nutrition programs targeting chronic disease conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and obesity.
Sixty-eight rural hospital districts and authorities have been awarded $750,000 each. The $51 million represents a portion of the $281,319,360.67 first-year award that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rural Health Transformation Program.
The grants are part of an estimated $1.4 billion federal investment over five years to improve rural healthcare throughout the state. The initiative is funded entirely through federal dollars under a state plan approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which features six funding initiatives for rural communities to improve healthcare access.