Reeves announces second round funding for Mississippi’s Rural Health Transformation Program

Reeves announces second round funding. Reeves announces second round funding for Mississippi's Rural Health Transformation Program.

Key points

• South MS State Hospital – Lamar County – $12, 000.00 – To purchase simulation equipment that will establish a comprehensive Simulation-Based Clinical Skills Training Initiative.
• MSE Behavioral & Mental Health Services – Lowndes County – $115, 000.00 – To recruit and retain one full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).
• Copiah County Medical Center – Copiah County – $115, 741.92 – To recruit and retain Family Medicine physicians.
• Yalobusha General Hospital – Yalobusha County – $95, 000.00 – To recruit and retain a full-time physician to stabilize the continuum of care in Yalobusha County.
• Tippah County Hospital – Tippah County – $267, 954.00 – To recruit and retain a full-time primary care physician.

Governor Tate Reeves announces round two of Rural Health funding flanked by Dr, Courtney Taylor and Dr. Dan Edney, October 21, 2026.

More than 370 applications were received in the second round, of which almost 60 projects were approved totaling $32.6 million in funding. The third application period is now open, with a focus on modernizing the electronic health record systems in Mississippi.

Now that the second round of projects for Mississippi's Rural Health Transformation Program have been approved, applications for the next projects are now being accepted.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves (R) confirmed the newly approved RHTP projects on Wednesday. The awards total $32.6 million in grants for projects focused on workforce development and those providing emergency psychiatric services for mental health treatment.

For context, the funding is part of the first of five annual awards under the federal government's Rural Health Transformation Program. This year, Mississippi received a total of $206.5 million. Awards for the next four years will be confirmed as the program continues through the five-year run.

Projects confirmed for approval on Wednesday will rise the healthcare workforce through an "earn while you learn" program, outreach efforts to middle and high schoolers, and preceptor expansion efforts. Three grants were additionally approved to develop EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment Treatment and Healing) units throughout the state.

"This is another really important round of awards, " remarked Reeves. "The investments we're making today will support Mississippi train, recruit and retain the health care professionals our rural communities need and assist close gaps in mental health care by strengthening our state's Psychiatric Emergency Services. We set out to transform health care throughout our state, and that's what we're doing."

In total, the second application period saw 376 applications received, of which regarding 60 were approved.

"The Rural Health Transformation Fund continues to transform hospital services and patient care across Mississippi, " U.S. Senator Roger Wicker remarked. "Through the program, we are improving patient outcomes by recruiting, educating and training a highly skilled health care workforce."

Projects confirmed Wednesday include $9 million for the "earn while you learn" program that will connect the education sector directly to employers as they develop workers, along with $6.2 million in 20 workforce recruitment and ecosystem workforce projects to attract healthcare workers to work and stay in rural areas.

Another $3 million will fund 12 preceptor expansion projects to growth the number of experienced healthcare professionals who can train new students and healthcare providers.

To reach the secondary education sector, $1 million has been allocated for four medical outreach projects geared toward middle and high school students to expose them to potential careers.

Expansion of access to specialized mental health care for those in crisis will be funded through $13.3 million in EmPATH projects.

"This is what rural health transformation should look like: federal investment that is putting patients first, driving lasting improvements and expanding healthcare for the hardworking Americans who call these communities home, " Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administer Dr. MehMet Oz remarked.

Now that the second round of projects have been confirmed, Governor Reeves stated another round of applications is now open.

Notably, the next round of projects will aim to remove gaps in rural care and support modernize the electronic health record systems in Mississippi to better connect facilities. The goal is to assist independent rural health care facilities and providers in adopting or upgrading electronic health record systems that will modernize clinical workflows.

Qualifying providers must have 60 or less in-patient beds, 50 or less licensed full time healthcare professionals on staff, and not be owned or controlled by a hospital system, integrated delivery network, FQHC parent network, or similar enterprise.

State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney believes one of the most transformative projects in this round of funding for the state will be the establishment of a connected electronic health record system since it will assist residents as they seek various care throughout the state. Such a system will be especially beneficial as patients transfer from rural areas to metro centers like Jackson.

"And at each level that handoff of information has been incredibly difficult before, and now it will be seamless and secure, " Edney explained.

Notably, the window for this third round of applications ends November 23, with awards anticipated sometime in February of next year.

Governor Reeves remarked it is his hope that a more connected and robust electronic health record exchange will assist Mississippi reach the kinds of gains in healthcare it has seen lately in education.

"For 50 years, Mississippi was ranked 50. Dr. Edney and I have spent years talking regarding that, " Reeves stated. "But two years ago, we were ranked 49th last year, we were ranked 48th. We're making progress. Not as fast as I want it to be, but it's a lot faster than it occurred in 50 years before we began having these conversations." Projects Receiving Second Round Funding. Workforce Recruitment and Sustainable Ecosystem Development.

1. Tippah County Hospital – Tippah County – $267, 954.00 – To recruit and retain a full-time primary care physician.

2. Tate County Hospital – Tate County – $300, 000.00 – To recruit and retain a broad range of healthcare professionals needed to sustain essential services and expand access to care in Tate County and the surrounding rural service area.

3. Magnolia Regional Health Center EMS – Alcorn County – $100, 000.00 – To implement a non-cash, competency-based recruitment and retention strategy centered on nationally recognized critical care education.

4. Peak Physical Therapy – Jones County – $215, 000.00 – To recruit, onboard, and retain two physical therapists and one physical therapist assistant.

5. Natchez Hospital Firm LLC, d.b.a. Merit Health Natchez – Adams County – $405, 000.00 – To prioritize recruitment of physicians in nine critical specialties: Cardiology, Radiology, Urology, Family Medicine with OB, Family Medicine, OB-GYN, Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Pediatrics.

6. Merit Health River Region – Warren County – $263, 000.00 – To backing four specialty physician searches, rural RN recruitment events, employer-paid nursing certifications, and related workforce recruitment and development activities.

7. South MS State Hospital – Lamar County – $12, 000.00 – To purchase simulation equipment that will establish a comprehensive Simulation-Based Clinical Skills Training Initiative.

8. North Mississippi Primary Health Care, Inc. – Tippah and Benton Counties – $489, 750.00 – To recruit and retain licensed providers in the three disciplines where its service-area shortages are most severe and best documented.

9. Premier Medical Group of Mississippi, LLC – Attala County – $394, 164.00 – To recruit and retain five healthcare professionals who will provide services to patients in rural central Mississippi.

10. MSE Behavioral & Mental Health Services – Lowndes County – $115, 000.00 – To recruit and retain one full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

11. Mississippi Delta Community College – Sunflower County – $110, 000.00 – To purchase a life-sized 3D anatomy visualization and virtual dissection system benefiting rural students pursuing nursing and allied health careers throughout its seven-county service area.

12. Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, Inc. – Forrest, Pearl River, Lamar, Perry and Covington Counties – $948, 790.00 – To recruit and retain a multidisciplinary healthcare workforce serving rural and underserved communities throughout southeast Mississippi.

13. Progressive Health of Houston – Chickasaw County – $660, 500.00 – To recruit and retain rural healthcare professionals.

14. Amite County Medical Services, Inc. – Amite County – $236, 449.00 – To target healthcare professionals who are essential to maintaining comprehensive, accessible care for residents of rural Amite and Pike counties.

15. Copiah County Medical Center – Copiah County – $115, 741.92 – To recruit and retain Family Medicine physicians.

16. Delta Health System – Washington County – $145, 000.00 – To modernize workforce infrastructure for approximately 647 employees in Greenville and the broader rural Mississippi Delta, particularly nursing, advanced practice, and allied health professionals critical to patient care.

17. Yalobusha General Hospital – Yalobusha County – $95, 000.00 – To recruit and retain a full-time physician to stabilize the continuum of care in Yalobusha County.

Taken together, the developments around reeves announces second round funding for Mississippi’ s Rural Health Transformation Program point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.