The Trump Administration announced $16.4 million in federal funding to strengthen rural healthcare workforce training and retention across Maryland. The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding will support projects to train new healthcare workers, expand apprenticeships, and help rural communities recruit and retain skilled professionals, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The investment will support training for nurses, physician assistants, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare professionals. It will also help current workers build skills and prepare middle and high school students for healthcare careers. The program provides support for tuition, transportation, and uniforms in dental assistant training.
The funding comes through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, as part of a $50 billion investment in rural healthcare transformation authorized by Congress.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the funding demonstrates the administration's commitment to rural healthcare. "We are putting resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home," Kennedy said in a statement.
The RHTP funding will focus on building the rural healthcare workforce, strengthening rural facilities and access, advancing innovative care and payment models, expanding community-based and preventive care, and modernizing rural healthcare technology, according to the announcement.