TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is sending nearly $188 million to rural communities to bolster health care access, support hospitals and clinics, and grow the rural health care workforce, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced today.<\/p>\n
The funding will support more than 80 awards serving communities across 31 rural counties that are home to nearly 1.2 million Floridians. Awardees include hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health clinics, and other health care providers and community organizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese investments in rural Florida will strengthen hospitals and clinics, expand the rural health care workforce, and help ensure Floridians can access high-quality care in their own communities,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n
The awards are part of Florida\u2019s Rural Health Transformation Program, administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration. Florida received $209 million through the federal-state initiative to strengthen rural health care systems, modernize infrastructure, expand access to services, and build the health care workforce.<\/p>\n
This round follows funding awarded through procurements earlier this year to establish infrastructure to monitor program outcomes, track expenditures and deliverables, and provide support to subawardees. With the latest round of awards, the Agency for Health Care Administration has awarded the full scope of Florida\u2019s Rural Health Transformation Program funding to qualified organizations across the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a transformational day for rural Florida as we implement the first year of a five-year initiative that will invest more than $1 billion to stabilize rural health care, expand access, and improve outcomes for Florida\u2019s rural residents. Governor DeSantis is a champion of rural Florida,\u201d Senate President Ben Albritton said. \u201cI\u2019m also grateful to Secretary Harris for working closely with Senator Simon and others to develop an application based on Florida\u2019s specific focus and needs. This historic grant funding builds on the work of President Passidomo, Senator Burton, and Senator Harrell\u2019s Live Healthy initiative and incorporates key policy and funding objectives of our Rural Renaissance legislation. These are exciting, generational investments in our rural health care infrastructure and the best is yet to come!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery awardee in this round went through a competitive, merit-based review, and it shows in the caliber of the partners we are announcing today,\u201d Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Shevaun L. Harris said. \u201cThese organizations know their communities, and they have shown us concrete plans to put this funding to work. This is what it looks like to close the gap between rural and urban health care access, one community at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder Governor DeSantis\u2019 leadership, Florida has continued to invest in our small and rural communities\u2014ensuring those communities have the support they need to enhance the quality of life for Floridians,\u201d Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said. \u201cThese awards not only support essential health care initiatives that increase access to care, they strengthen the foundation of communities\u2014building new opportunities for job creators and job seekers and supporting Florida\u2019s position as the best state in the nation to live, work and do business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tremendous and exciting partnership between our state and federal government to provide much needed funding to strengthen Florida\u2019s rural health,\u201d Rep. Sam Garrison said. \u201cThis initiative will support our mission in keeping Florida healthy through better access, smarter technology, and a stronger workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
By region, the state reported the following breakdown of awards:<\/p>\n
Northeast region: 14 awardees, totaling $51 million<\/p>\n
Southeast region: 11 awardees, totaling $12 million<\/p>\n
Southwest region: 21 awardees, totaling $45 million<\/p>\n
Northwest region: 35 awardees, totaling $81 million<\/p>\n
The investments are expected to support expanded clinical training and rural rotations, start-up funding for rural and satellite clinics, mobile health units, remote patient monitoring, and advanced telehealth services.<\/p>\n